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German insolvencies rise

13 February 2004

WIESBADEN – Insolvencies continued to rise in Germany during the month of November, mirroring the stagnant economy, but in a bit of good news, the number of company bankruptcies dropped sharply, officials reported Friday.

The Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said total insolvencies in November, at 8,197, were up 6.1 percent on November 2002 levels.

The figures show that the insolvencies had mainly hit the non- business sector. Company insolvencies, at 2,899, were down by 11.2 percent from November 2002.

But all other insolvencies totalled 5,298, up by 18.9 percent. The office said that in this group, consumers accounted for 3,047 insolvencies, a whopping 41.1 percent above November 2002.

For the 11-month period through November, total insolvencies in Germany came to 92,447, up 19.1 percent over the same 2002 period.

Company insolvencies in the 11-month period were up 4.4 percent to 36,184, while all other insolvencies had surged 30.8 per cent to 56,263, the office figures showed.

Analysts noted that the 2003 insolvency figures point to the toll which the economic slump had taken on private households.

Amid rising unemployment, coupled with such overhead as home mortgages and loans to finance consumer purchases, more and more private households and consumers were going under, they said.

 

DPA
Subject: German news