Covid bailout slammed the brakes on new bankruptcies

The number of companies declared bankrupt in the Netherlands decreased further in August to the lowest number in 21 years, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday. This likely has to do with the government's coronavirus support packages, rescuing companies that may have gone bankrupt even if there had been no coronavirus crisis.

Corrected for the number of court days, 173 businesses excluding sole proprietorships were declared bankrupt in August. That is 32 fewer than in July and the lowest number since 1999, according to the stats office. The number of bankruptcies in the country has been relatively stable since August 2017, but decreased for four months in a row after April 2020 - when the government bailout packages were implemented.

Last month, the trade industry saw the most bankruptcies with 39 companies. This is because trade is one of the industries with the most companies, according to the stats office. Relatively speaking, the transport and storage sector had the most bankruptcies in August.