THE second chance law Approved in 2015, it transformed the bankruptcy scenario in Catalonia. According to data collected by the Illustrious Barcelona Bar (ICAB)between January and June 2024, 6,425 bankruptcy proceedings were filed by individuals in the community. Concretely, 5,880 corresponded to consumers and 845 to self-employed workers.
This volume multiplies by 11 the procedures filed in 2016 (578) and This already represents 90% of total insolvencies declared in Catalonia. This percentage is also found throughout Spain, where during the first half of the year 25,468 bankruptcy procedures were opened against individuals. An unusual growth compared to the 1,885 files in 2016.
The Dean of ICAB, Jesus M. Sánchezcelebrated these figures and attributed them to the intense dissemination work carried out by The Alliancea platform that brings together entities such as Pimec, the College of Economists of Catalonia or Cáritas.
“The second chance law allows companies to use a very simple procedure so that a judge can exonerate their debts,” Sánchez explained. The dean specified that this mechanism is aimed both at people in debt due to their personal activity, for example with mortgage loans, and at self-employed people in difficulty following an extraordinary event such as the pandemic.
This standard allows debts to be canceled either by an extrajudicial agreement with creditors or by liquidation of assets. In Catalonia, 95% of bankruptcy procedures involving individuals result in exemption from liability.
On the other hand, the MP and president of the ICAB Personal Insolvency Observatory, Yvonne Pavieannounced that the second European Second Chance Congress would be held at the school on January 16 and 17.
