A new Coface report warns of a troubling rise in corporate insolvencies worldwide. According to the report, as published by Walla, business bankruptcies jumped 12% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.
Coface says the escalation is being driven in part by the confrontation with Iran, which has pushed up energy prices, disrupted supply chains and raised shipping costs. Higher wages and tighter credit conditions are adding further pressure on profit margins. In response, Coface has revised up its global insolvency forecast for 2026 and now expects a 6% increase in business failures worldwide, more than twice its forecast at the start of the year.
The steepest increases are expected in the United States and France, where bankruptcies are projected to rise 8% in each country. Japan is forecast to see a 7% increase, while Germany and the Netherlands are each expected to post gains of about 5%. Spain, Italy and Britain are projected to see more moderate growth of 2% to 3%.
Israel is also seeing the trend. CofaceBDi data show that about 16,200 companies and businesses closed in the first quarter of 2026, up roughly 6% from a year earlier. The highest-risk sectors include energy-intensive manufacturing such as chemicals, metals and paper, as well as services, transport, logistics, hospitality and tourism, which are being hit by both higher costs and weaker demand. The report adds that governments now have less room to shield companies than in previous crises, since support packages in Europe are far smaller than those deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
