We are first in terms of insolvency in EU

According to Zoltán Dercze, director of Coface Hungary, we have the highest percentage of insolvent companies inside the EU. One out of 24 companies existing in January, will not survive till December. The crisis has reached all sectors of the Hungarian economy. The threat of liquidation is not an effective deterrent against failure to pay debts. The number of insolvent companies has been rising continuously since 2003. While the average time required to pay invoices was 36 days in 2003, this period has increased to more than 100 days by the end of 2008. At least 2,7 percent of invoices are never paid. Only 2 percent of Hungarian enterprises buy credit information or use factoring services. A total of 21 245 bankruptcy procedures were filed in 2008 and this number is expected to increase in the future.