CRIF AG investigated how many people were responsible for at least three company bankruptcies over ten years. A total of 2,440 people met this threshold. Of these, 1,476 caused three bankruptcies each, while 459 caused four, 187 five, and 93 six companies to fail. At the top of the list is someone who was responsible for the bankruptcy of 61 companies, followed by others with 51 and 46 company bankruptcies each.
Men cause more bankruptcies
An analysis of the gender distribution shows that 93 per cent of these “bankruptcy artists” are male. Among the 7 per cent that are women, the frontrunner was the source of 35 company bankruptcies.
Where most bankruptcy artists live
The canton of Zurich has the highest number of bankruptcy artists – 337 of them, to be precise. In second place is a group of people of ‘unknown whereabouts’, numbering 262. This is followed by the cantons of Vaud (247), Ticino (213) and Geneva (204).
The construction industry is particularly affected
Companies in the construction sector were those most frequently driven into ruin by these “bankruptcy artists”. The sector covering ‘specialised construction activities’ (e.g., electrical and plumbing installations, demolition, scaffolding) leads the way with 1,846 company bankruptcies, followed by construction of buildings (950 cases), wholesale trade (815), food and beverage service activities (755), and the provision of financial services (719).
Legal forms
The most common legal forms of the bankrupt companies are limited liability companies (54.5%) and public limited companies (37%). Sole proprietorships play a minor role at 7.3%.
About the survey
We looked at every individual who registered three or more bankruptcies within ten years, excluding people who could exert no (or only limited) effect on the success of a business (such as liquidators, proxies, authorised signatories, etc.). We only took account of those people who exercised an active mandate in the bankrupt businesses during the period in which they became bankrupt.
