Corporate bankruptcies sharply on the rise, record high in 2025-2026

Context

TL;DR

• 11’063 insolvent companies between January and September
• Company bankruptcies at 13’660, +38,4% year-on-year
• New registrations in the register: 41’706
• Individuals: 8’003 bankruptcies in the first nine months

Key facts

• Period → January–September
• Corporate insolvencies → 11’063 (+45,6%)
• Organizational deficiencies → 2’597 (+14,2%)
• Total company bankruptcies → 13’660 (+38,4%)
• New registrations → 41’706 (+2,1%)
• Deletions → 26’712 (+4,9%)
• Private bankruptcies → 8’003 (+6,3%)
• Expected company closures in 2026 → over 19’000

Between January and September, 11’063 companies in Switzerland filed for insolvency, as they were unable to meet their payment obligations. The figure, released by the economic information company Creditreform and reported by Keystone-ATS, is 45,6% higher than in the same period of 2025. The survey covers Switzerland.

In addition to insolvency proceedings, there were 2’597 closures due to organizational deficiencies, as provided for under Article 731b of the Code of Obligations. This category increased by 14,2%. The total number of company bankruptcies thus reached 13’660 cases, an annual increase of 38,4%.

Also contributing was the legislative amendment that entered into force at the beginning of 2025. Since then, public-law institutions have been required to collect arrears from companies through bankruptcy proceedings. They were thus placed on an equal footing with private creditors. Creditreform experts argue that the former privilege led companies to fulfill their obligations to public creditors insufficiently.

“The abolition of this privilege had been long awaited.”

Creditreform also links the increase in bankruptcies to the boom in new companies, which has been underway for several years. The company notes that young businesses are particularly exposed to the risk of closure during their first five years of operation.

New registrations and cancellations

During the period under review, there were 41’706 new registrations in the commercial register, an increase of 2,1%. Deletions reached 26’712, an increase of 4,9%, resulting in a net increase of 14’994 companies. Creditreform estimates that new companies could reach 57’000 over the course of 2026, a record level.

Among private individuals, there were 8’003 bankruptcies, an increase of 6,3%. Renounced inheritances, at 6’353, increased by 3,8%; bankruptcies of living persons rose by 17,2% to 1’650, but were still fewer in absolute terms.

Operational details

A practical reading of the picture

For those following the Swiss economy, the most useful figure is not a single number, but the way Creditreform separates the causes. The total for companies includes insolvencies, linked to the inability to meet payments, and closures due to organizational shortcomings. Reading only the total therefore risks concealing two different mechanisms. The correct comparison is between the same item and the same period, not between aggregates constructed differently.

A market that opens and closes in the same period

The snapshot of businesses also shows a double movement. Entries in the commercial register are increasing, but so are removals. The net growth of 14’994 companies does not erase the fact that 26’712 were removed during the period: it describes a positive balance between two distinct movements, not the absence of closures. Creditreform specifically identifies the boom in new businesses as a possible component of the increase in bankruptcies and points to the first five years as a particularly vulnerable phase for young companies.

There is also the effect of the regulations in force since the beginning of 2025. Public-law institutions have been placed on an equal footing with private creditors when requesting payment of overdue claims through bankruptcy proceedings. To interpret the year-on-year increase, this change should be kept separate from the other factors cited by the company: the figure is also influenced by the change in the procedures initiated.

Estimate, not actual figure

The estimate of more than 19’000 business closures for 2026 should be read as a Creditreform forecast, not as a figure already recorded. For individuals, the annual estimate is more than 10’600 bankruptcies. The comparison with the approximately 8’000 bankruptcies in 2019, the last pre-Covid year cited by the source, serves to measure the historical gap.

For individuals, however, the picture has a different composition: rejected inheritances account for the majority, while the bankruptcies of living people have a smaller absolute weight, despite increasing sharply. Distinguishing these categories prevents the same dynamic from being attributed to households and companies.

Key points

From the news to an orderly verification

To use the information operationally, the most prudent approach is a sequence of checks that separates categories, periods and forecasts. For those who manage a business, have dealings with a company or follow Swiss data, there are five steps:

1. Start with the period: January–September is the window used for the observed data. Do not overlap it with the forecast for all of 2026, which concerns a different time span.

2. Isolate the cause: the inability to meet payments corresponds to insolvencies; organizational deficiencies are the category referred to by Article 731b of the Code of Obligations.

3. Since the beginning of 2025, public-law institutions must require companies to pay arrears through bankruptcy proceedings, just like private creditors.

4. Separate private individuals: rejected inheritances and bankruptcies of living persons are counted separately. Maintaining this division avoids reading 8’003 cases as a single phenomenon.

5. Treat projections as such: the more than 19’000 business closures expected for 2026 are an estimate by Creditreform. For historical comparison, use the approximately 8’000 bankruptcies in 2019 indicated by the source.

What to monitor over time

The first element to monitor is the transition from the data for the first nine months to the close of all of 2026. Creditreform indicates an expected threshold, not a final tally; verification will therefore have to compare the forecast with the final number of business closures. The same criterion applies to net growth: the balance between registrations and deletions describes the overall movement, but does not replace a separate reading of the two series.

The distinction between proceedings also serves to avoid automatically attributing every increase to the same cause. Insolvency concerns the inability to meet payments; organizational deficiencies are a different category, referred to by Article 731b of the Code of Obligations. For public creditors, the date to bear in mind is the beginning of 2025, when the amendment equating them with private creditors in proceedings for arrears claims entered into force.

Those who want to turn a reading of the business landscape into a search for employers can consult aziende che assumono.

Source: swissinfo.ch