Personal Bankruptcies on the Rise

With more and more consumers going into dead, insolvency filings in Germany are on the uptick. During the first quarter of 2004, district courts in Germany reported 28,118 insolvencies, a 15.4 percent increase over the same period the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. During March, 10,829 filed for bankruptcy -- the greatest number ever recorded in a single month. The business bankruptcies were high during that period, their rates didn't grow as quickly as those of consumers. The 9,867 businesses forced to declare bankruptcy represented a 1.2 percent increase over the previous year.