Summary

Switzerland recorded a total of 13,612 insolvency proceedings in 2025, of which 12,485 involved businesses (+61.2% compared to 2024) and 1,127 involved private individuals (–20.9%). The dramatic increase in business insolvencies is primarily attributable to a legislative amendment that came into force on January 1, 2025, enabling creditors to file for insolvency in cases of unpaid public law claims (taxes, social insurance contributions). Losses from insolvency loss certificates totaled 1.8 billion francs (+17.8%).

Persons

Topics

  • Swiss insolvency law
  • Debt collection and insolvency
  • Economic statistics 2025
  • Debt Enforcement and Insolvency Act (SchKG) amendment

Clarus Lead

The legislative amendment marks a paradigm shift in Swiss insolvency practice: instead of debt collection through attachment of earnings, authorities and social insurance institutions can now directly trigger insolvency proceedings. This accelerates market clearance of illiquid enterprises, but in the short term leads to significant statistical jumps that obscure long-term trends. Relevant for decision-makers: The new statistical guidelines from the Supervisory Authority Service complicate year-on-year comparisons and require caution when interpreting economic developments.

Detailed Summary

The amendment to the Federal Debt Enforcement and Insolvency Act (SchKG) effective January 1, 2025 is the central explanatory factor for the insolvency boom. Previously, public creditors could only use the debt collection procedure; now they can directly file for insolvency. This results in enterprises with chronic payment arrears on taxes or social insurance contributions disappearing from the market more quickly. However, the Federal Statistical Office emphasizes that precise distinction between the legislative effect and economic development is impossible, as there is no differentiation by cause of insolvency.

The new debt collection and insolvency statistics are based on the revised directive No. 10 and provide detailed data on debt enforcement proceedings for the first time. Of 3.15 million debt collection proceedings initiated in 2025, over 90% involved private individuals. Among the 1.55 million attachment executions, income attachment dominated (828,751 cases); real and asset attachments were marginal. Critical: In 658,742 cases (42% of all attachments), the debtor had no attachable assets – an indicator of structural insolvency. Insolvency closures increased by 10.2%; over half (55.9%) were closed due to lack of assets.

Key Findings

  • Legislative amendment as main driver: The 61% increase in business insolvencies is primarily due to new powers granted to public creditors, not economic deterioration.
  • Statistical measurability problem: Precise quantification of the legislative effect is impossible; comparisons with prior years have limited validity.
  • High rate of fruitless attachments: 42% of all attachments fail due to lack of assets – evidence of structural insolvency among many debtors.
  • Financial burden: 1.8 billion francs in losses from insolvency loss certificates; total proceeds for creditors only 192 million francs.

Critical Questions

  1. Data Quality: How reliable are the new statistics under directive No. 10 when transition problems lead to "temporarily unavailable data"? Which 2025 comparisons remain valid?

  2. Causality: Can the economic effect of the legislative amendment (illiquid enterprises removed from the market faster) be separated from cyclical factors when there is no differentiation by cause of insolvency?

  3. Conflicts of Interest: Do authorities benefit from higher insolvency rates through faster debt collection, or do incentives arise for premature insolvency filings instead of restructuring attempts?

  4. Side Effects: Does the new rule lead to increased insolvencies among small enterprises with temporary payment problems that would previously have been resolved through debt collection?

  5. Feasibility: Are cantonal debt collection offices adequately staffed to handle the increased insolvency volume (4,742 additional proceedings)?

  6. Asset Depletion: The high rate of fruitless attachments (658,742 cases) suggests structural over-indebtedness – how is the solvency of debtors examined before insolvency filings?

Sources

Primary Source: Debt Collection and Insolvency Statistics 2025 – Federal Statistical Office

Verification Status: ✓ 21.05.2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-check: 21.05.2026