Securing claims through contractual pledges of rights — how creditors can survive difficult times!
This article deals with an important future topic for companies: securing receivables through contractual pledges of rights — if you want to survive as a creditor tomorrow, you need to protect yourself with the right strategy today.
On July 19, 2025… a Friday morning… the Federal Statistical Office reported an increase in corporate insolvencies of 19 point 2 percent compared to the previous year.
The report… appeared sober in the news.
A few figures.
A bar chart.
Then on to sports.
But anyone who was out and about in the offices and factories of German SMEs on this day felt something else:
Tension.
Invoices were left lying around.
Payment targets were exhausted.
Discounts? Ignored.
According to a Coface study, 81 percent of companies reported new payment delays in the same year — the highest figure for a long time.
On average… they waited a good 32 days for their money.
Often… significantly longer.
This is not just a short-term blip.
Creditreform has it in black and white:
The construction sector and industry are worlds apart in terms of payment terms — sometimes 25 days, sometimes 39.
Some sectors remain stable… others slip deep into arrears.
And the politicians?
The planned EU late payment reform could have helped — 30-day limit, automatic interest on arrears, tough enforcement.
But in summer 2025, the news came from Brussels:
Politically deadlocked.
In fact… failed.
What does this mean for the coming years?
The most likely scenario:
Moderate economic recovery.
Slow decline in interest rates.
Overdue receivables remain high, will not improve until 2027 or 2028 at the earliest.
DSO values stagnate.
Insolvencies… remain on a plateau.
The worse-case scenario:
A recession or further high financing costs — and in 2026 we will see a high
The best option:
A national initiative with clear payment targets and sanctions.
But… nobody should rely on that.
The conclusion is clear:
If you want to survive as a creditor tomorrow, you have to ensure security today.
Keep payment terms short.
Don’t just write default interest and lump sums into contracts, enforce them.
Introduce early warning systems for overdue receivables.
And consciously limit risks in vulnerable sectors.
And what about larger sums?
Here, contractual prevention can make the difference between loss and complete security.
A contractual pledge of rights — for example by pledging the debtor’s company shares — provides separation rights in insolvency proceedings in the event of an emergency.
This means: priority over unsecured creditors…
…and the possibility of realizing shares long before insolvency proceedings are dead.
This security has a double effect:
Firstly, as leverage — the debtor knows that real values are at stake.
Secondly, as liquidity protection — in the worst case, the claim can be serviced from the realization of the shares.
And in contrast to credit insurance, the pledge of rights usually costs… nothing extra.
Because:
Just as a power grid without flywheels is more susceptible to blackouts…
…a supply chain without receivables security is more susceptible to payment defaults.
And unlike the Spanish power outage… which was resolved after 24 hours…
…payment defaults often last months — sometimes until insolvency.
Those who fail to prepare for this…
risk a few unpaid invoices…
…turning into a liquidity collapse that threatens their very existence.
At Deutsche Pfandverwertung, we create fast and efficient solutions for securing receivables — contact us at an early stage before payment arrears become an existential risk.
We are publicly appointed, sworn auctioneers (auctioneers) with many years of experience in the realization of legal and contractual pledges of rights in legally compliant online auctions with live stream.
Do you have a specific case? Then get in touch with us: TO THE CONTACT FORM.
Contact us — together for a successful result!
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Pledge of rights — everything you need to know explained. A pledge of rights can relate to things, i.e. physical objects, as well as to rights of any kind, such as company shares, patents, securities, IP rights, domains, licenses or trademark rights.
