12 July 2023
The global surge in business bankruptcies is reminiscent of the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, with some countries experiencing volumes not seen in years. This wave of corporate defaults is anticipated to escalate further due to a combination of factors. A decade of easily accessible cheap money led to a false sense of invincibility among business executives and private equity managers, causing them to overlook the cyclical nature of the economy. Now, weaker borrowers are facing a daunting combination of weakening demand, surging inflation, over-indebted balance sheets, and significantly higher borrowing costs.
In the United States, bankruptcies among companies covered by S&P Global Market Intelligence during the first half of 2023 reached their highest levels since 2010. Corporate insolvencies in England and Wales are nearing a 14-year high, while Swedish bankruptcies have hit the highest levels in a decade. Germany saw a nearly 50% year-on-year increase in bankruptcies in June, marking the highest level since 2016. Similarly, Japan is witnessing the highest number of bankruptcies in the past five years.