Insolvency by the Numbers #62: NZ Insolvency Statistics February 2026
What have the insolvency numbers done in February 2026, we also look at what could be instore for the rest of the 2026 for personal and corporate insolvency.
Winding Up Applications
We have started off the year with a bit of pressure seen in the number of winding up applications advertised, it has exceeded what we saw in 2025.
Businesses are still under the pump, and it is being driven by the IRD in large part making up 193 of the 275 January and February winding up applications.
February had 160 applications advertised making up for the slightly slower start seen in January 2026. February 2026 was the 2nd highest month for total appointments over the last 10 years with only the 167 applications seen in November of 2025 exceeding it.
The IRD applications in February made up 112 of the 160, coming in 2nd again only to November 2025 where they advertised 127 appointments in the month.
A big month for winding up applications and it will flow through into a big March and April for appointments through the courts as pressure on delinquent debtors continues to grow.
2026 looks like it will exceed 2024 an off the back of February potentially 2025. However, it is very much still early days to predict this particularly in an election year There remains a lot of pressure in the market with higher than desired inflation, no further drops in the OCR likely, and war likely influencing businesses cost margins as fuel price shocks flow through the supply chain and create additional uncertainty.
Company Insolvencies – Liquidations, Receiverships, and Voluntary Administrations
February 2026 continued the January trend coming in above the comparative months in 2025 it is looking like LIP’s will be in for another busy year. Appointment figures are still down on the GFC figures but are in line with wat was experienced in the shoulder years of 2010 and 2011.
With another month of high levels of winding up application the number of court appointed liquidations is expected to remain high currently sitting at 40% compared to its long-term share around 27%.
The Official Assignee took 95 liquidation appointments in February, almost all of them were IRD court applications. They continue to be the busiest liquidator in the country taking more in one month than a lot of practitioners take in one year.
Personal Insolvencies – Bankruptcy, No Asset Procedure and Debt Repayment Orders.
Personal insolvency figures saw a lift in January when compared to the same month in the last few years but it was not a noticeable jump.
Comparatively they took 44 bankruptcies in January but have on average in 2025 taken 55 liquidations per month with highs of 105 in some months.
At this point we continue to expect more of the same for the first half of 2026 as we head into the election.
Where to from here?
2026 will be an interesting year with an election in the tail end, based on 2024 and 2025 insolvency figures appointments should continue to track up and look to be even higher than what we saw in 2025.
The economy is by no means in the free and clear and has some rough time ahead on the way to recovery. How this plays out with the wait and see approach people take in an election year means the pain may be prolonged and pushed out into 2027.
As always its better to take action and act early, it will often get a better result for all stakeholders.
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