Published on 06.01.2023
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Companies » So-called “zombie” companies are caught up with the end of anti-Covid measures, causing the bankruptcy statistics to explode.
The number of business bankruptcies in Switzerland exceeded the symbolic threshold of 10,000 last year, rising by 37% to an all-time high of 10,126. the Swiss Creditors’ Union Creditreform.
The sharp increase in statistics on an annual basis must however be put into perspective. Economic support measures to counter the effects of the coronavirus have enabled some so-called “zombie” companies to avoid otherwise inevitable bankruptcy over the past two years, according to the press release. Insolvency cases thus increased by 33% to 6,796.
Over-indebtedness or the drying up of liquidities is not the only cause of bankruptcy, since 3330 companies have gone out of business due to a lack of organization according to article 731b of the Code of Obligations. These bankruptcies have thus experienced a surge of 47%. Some companies in this list did not have a statutory auditor or a commercial address. This suggests that these companies are being overlooked by officials keen to avoid accountability, according to Creditreform.
The negative trend should continue this year due to the many economic uncertainties caused by the war in Ukraine, the increase in energy costs and high inflation in the euro zone. The expected recession in many countries could prove fatal to many Swiss companies.
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