Corporate bankruptcies down 15.8 pct in Greece in 2014

The survey, based on financial reports included in the "Corporate Insolvencies in Europe 2014/15", said that Greece was one the countries where only a small part of corporate insolvencies was made through the official bankruptcy code.

Corporate bankruptcy in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain fell by 5.8 pct to 31,187 last year -marking the first positive development since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis- however, the number of bankruptcies still remained at very high levels and has more than tripled since 2007.

The number of bankruptcies in Western Europe totaled 179,662 in 2014, from 189,855 in 2013, a decline of 5.4 pct. Only two countries, out of the 17 included in the survey, showed positive balance (Italy 12.8 pct and Norway 5.2 pct). All other reported negative percentages, led by Spain (-28.5 pct), Holland (-20.7 pct) and Denmark (-18.9 pct).

The services sector accounted for the biggest part if corporate bankruptcies (37 pct) in Western Europe in 2014, followed by the commerce sector (31.7 pct) and the industry sector (10.8 pct).