Swiss corporate bankruptcies forecast to hit record in 2026

Allianz Trade expects 15,000 Swiss companies to face bankruptcy proceedings in 2026, a forecast that would set a new national high. The estimate marks a sixth consecutive annual rise and puts the projected total at twice the level recorded in 2022 and three times the pre-pandemic figure. The insurer published its forecast in its Insolvency Report on Tuesday, October 27.

The outlook places Switzerland in a prolonged climb in corporate insolvencies, even as the reasons behind the increase extend beyond pressure on business finances. Allianz Trade says the country’s revised insolvency law also affects the count by bringing more companies into proceedings. The distinction matters when interpreting the record forecast: the number reflects both economic strain and a legal change in how insolvency cases are initiated. Allianz Trade expects the Swiss total to settle at a new, elevated level in 2027 and 2028.

The 2026 forecast is twice the 2022 level and three times the pre-pandemic total, according to Allianz Trade. The insurer’s estimate of 15,000 cases would extend the annual rise to six years in a row, a sharp change in the scale of Swiss corporate insolvencies over that period.

Those comparisons put the projected record into perspective without changing its status as a forecast. Allianz Trade says the total is likely to rise again next year, while its Swiss outlook then points to stabilisation at a high level in 2027 and 2028. The report describes a domestic trend that has continued even as the factors behind individual cases vary. Its headline figure counts proceedings against companies, a category that the new insolvency law affects directly. The result is a forecast shaped by both the financial conditions facing firms and the rules governing the start of proceedings.

The insolvency law in force since 2025 is a major factor in the higher count, Allianz Trade Switzerland head Jan Möllmann said. The law automatically increases the number of companies against which insolvency proceedings are initiated, he said, making legal change a significant part of the forecast’s explanation.

Möllmann also pointed to broader economic and financial challenges for businesses. The report describes high energy costs and rising interest rates as pressures on companies, alongside economic concerns. It says those conditions account for only part of the rise in Swiss insolvencies. That qualification is central to understanding the number: an increase in proceedings does not stem solely from worsening business conditions when the law itself brings more companies into the process. Allianz Trade calls the expected wave “unprecedented,” while identifying the 2025 legal change as a key driver of the unusually high total.

Global corporate insolvencies are forecast to rise by 5% in 2026, following a 6% increase in 2025. Allianz Trade expects the worldwide increase to slow to 1% in 2027, but says persistent geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty has pushed the expected peak back by a year, to 2028. After that, global insolvencies are likely to fall slightly.

For Switzerland, Allianz Trade expects the situation to stabilise at a new, high level in 2027 and 2028. That outlook does not point to an immediate return to earlier totals: the 2026 estimate would be double the 2022 figure and triple the pre-pandemic level. The Swiss and global projections describe different paths, but both keep insolvencies elevated into the coming years. For businesses in Switzerland, the insurer’s forecast signals that the pressure reflected in the case count is expected to persist even after annual growth begins to ease globally.