Early 2023 Saw a Rise in US Corporate Bankruptcies

Early this year, several large companies in the United States (US) experienced bankruptcy. One widely discussed case was Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

The bank, headquartered in California, went bankrupt in March 2023 after its customers made massive withdrawals, leaving SVB unable to pay its maturing debts.

Bankruptcy also struck Bed Bath & Beyond (BBB), a large US home goods retailer.

According to *The Washington Post*, BBB filed for bankruptcy in April 2023 after incurring a USD 393 million loss in 2022. BBB was also reportedly in arrears to several banks with a total debt of USD 925 million.

Besides SVB and BBB, many other US companies faced bankruptcy issues early this year. According to S&P Global data, the trend is increasing.

S&P Global recorded 236 US companies filing for bankruptcy during the January-April 2023 period. This data only includes bankruptcies of companies with assets or liabilities of at least USD 2 million.

"So far, the number of US companies that went bankrupt in January-April 2023 is higher than in the first four months of previous years," said the S&P Global research team in its report on Thursday, May 4, 2023.

During January-April 2023, the most bankrupt US companies were from the consumer products sector (30 companies), industry (23 companies), finance (18 companies), and healthcare (18 companies).

Of all the companies that filed for bankruptcy during that period, 8 had debts exceeding USD 1 billion.