Significant increase in corporate bankruptcies combined with a sustained momentum in start-up activities

CRIF AG has analysed the number of new business start-ups, bankruptcies and deletions from the commercial register from January to September 2026.

A significant rise in business bankruptcies
Between January and September 2026, 11,412 companies filed for bankruptcy in Switzerland. This is equivalent to an increase of 36.5% compared with the same period of the previous year. The Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden recorded the highest percentage increase, at +137.7%, followed by the Canton of Jura (+111.3%) and the Canton of Thurgau (+86 %). There was a decline in business bankruptcies in the Cantons of Aargau (-8.6%), Solothurn (-6.9%) and Schwyz (-4.6%).

Most of the bankruptcies affected the construction industry (1,380 cases), the food & beverage sector (1,019) and the retail trade (895). There was an above-average rise in filings for bankruptcy in financial services (+66%), management consultancies (+65.9%) and in the real estate sector (+57.2%).

One important reason for this increase is a change in the law in Switzerland. Since 1^st January 2025, it has also been possible to use bankruptcy proceedings to pursue tax debts owed by debtors who are entered in the commercial register.

Slower growth of start-up businesses
40,487 new companies were established in Switzerland in the first nine months of this year. This represents an increase of 1.9% compared with the previous year. During the same period of the previous year, there was still an increase of 4.3 % in new start-ups.

The strongest rate of growth in new businesses was reported in the Canton of Ticino,  at +9.2%.

The Canton of Zurich recorded the highest number of newly-established businesses, at 7,447, followed by Vaud (3,798) and Bern (3,253). In terms of the rate of growth, Zurich – at +0.5% – remained below the Swiss average of +1.9%. In contrast, Bern grew by 3.2%, while the figure for new businesses formed in Vaud fell by 0.4%.

The highest number of new business start-ups were to be found in management consultancies (3,499), the real estate sector (3,032) and the construction industry (2,896). On the other hand, there was a significant decline in new business start-ups compared with the previous year in the food & beverage sector (-21.1%) and in the retail trade (-12.1%).

About the survey
We have taken into account all those businesses that were first entered into or deleted from the commercial register, or that filed for bankruptcy, between 1^st January and 30rd September 2026. Branch offices were not included in the calculations.

Filings for bankruptcy by sector (NOGA), January to September

New start-ups by canton, January to September