The Netherlands will face almost 80 percent more bankruptcies than last year, Atradius predicts

The Netherlands will face considerably more bankruptcies this year than in 2022, predicts credit insurer Atradius. There are expected to be 79 percent more insolvencies than last year, mainly because the government’s coronavirus aid expired last year and some of the companies that were able to stay afloat as a result have gone bankrupt.

More companies in the Netherlands will also go bankrupt in 2024. The increase would be 21 percent.

According to the credit insurer's report, the Netherlands is among the countries expected to see the sharpest rise in bankruptcies, along with South Korea, Italy and the United States.

However, Atradius also points out that the Netherlands is returning to normal levels in terms of bankruptcies. Similar to New Zealand, South Korea and the United States, remarkably few companies went bankrupt in the Netherlands during the coronavirus crisis, thanks to generous support measures. For instance, the number of bankruptcies in the Netherlands fell by 17 and 41 percent in 2020 and 2021, respectively. In 2022, there was a slight increase again. This year however, a sharp rise in corporate insolvencies is expected.

"Combined with the sharp rise in energy prices, high interest rates and the economic downturn as a result of the war in Ukraine, this poses major financial challenges for companies," says economist Theo Smid of Atradius.

At the same time, he points out that there will be nowhere near as many companies going bankrupt this year and next as in 2013, when the number of companies forced to close skyrocketed. Atradius expects 4,300 insolvencies this year and 5,300 in 2024, compared with 12,500 bankruptcies in 2013.

Globally, the number of insolvencies is also rising this year. This corresponds to an increase of almost 50 percent.