Hamburg, October 16, 2019

The number of private insolvencies in Germany is continuing to decline. In the first half of 2019, 42,235 consumers filed for bankruptcy - the lowest number since 2004. The number of private bankruptcies fell by 1.4 percent year-on-year (H1 2018: 42,846). This is the conclusion reached by the information service provider CRIF BÜRGEL in the new study "Debt Barometer 1st Half 2019". For 2019 as a whole, CRIF BÜRGEL currently expects up to 88,000 private insolvencies in Germany, the ninth consecutive year-on-year decline (2018: 88,995).

"The renewed decline in private insolvencies is due to the continuing low unemployment rate in Germany. Thanks to rising wages and a positive situation in the labor market, the domestic economy has developed well in recent years", stated CRIF BÜRGEL Managing Director, Christian Bock. "Nevertheless, a trend reversal in private insolvencies has started. We expect more private insolvencies in Germany in 2020. An economic downturn is slowly leaving its mark on the labor market. Since the insolvency statistics mainly reflect the past, they are a kind of rearview mirror; these developments will only begin to have an impact on the insolvency figures in 2020", explained Bock.

Read more on: www.crifbuergel.de/en/news