Fewer personal bankruptcies
There were fewer bankruptcies in the first half of 2007 than in the same period in 2006. The six-monthly figures show a drop for private persons for the first time since 1999.
Bankruptcies continue to fall
In the first half of 2007 4,069 bankruptcies were pronounced. This is 17 percent down on the same period last year. The decrease in the number of bankruptcies of businesses and institutions (excluding one-man businesses) which started in 2005 continued in the first half of 2007. One notable aspect was that for the first time since 1999, there were fewer personal bankruptcies (including one-man businesses) than twelve months previously.
Bankruptcies pronounced
Relatively many personal bankruptcies in large cities
The bankruptcies pronounced in the first half of this year included 2,274 private persons, 12 percent fewer than in the first half of 2006.
Relatively many personal bankruptcies are pronounced in large municipalities. In the Netherlands as a whole there were 1.4 personal bankruptcies per 10,000 inhabitants on average in the first half of 2007, compared with 2 per 10,000 inhabitants in the four largest cities.
Personal bankruptcies by size of municipality, January-June 2007
More bankruptcies in the north
The decrease in the total number of bankruptcies was observed across the country, with the exception of the north. There, the number of bankruptcies was 13 percent higher in the first half of 2007 than one year previously. The increase was completely accounted for by personal bankruptcies. The relative number of personal bankruptcies is now just as high as the national average.
Bankruptcies by part of the country
Rudolf Timmermans and Karin van der Ven