Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic marked the highest increase in corporate insolvencies in central and eastern Europe last year in the wake of the credit crunch and economic slow-down,  Creditreform agency said.

Corporate insolvencies rose by 6% to 39,423 in the 11 countries monitored by Creditreform, a credit score and debt collection agency based in Neuss, Germany.

In Bulgaria, whose economy relies mainly on exports to Western Europe, the number of companies that defaulted more than doubled, Creditreform said in a study released on Tuesday.

Corporate insolvencies increased by 21% in the Czech Republic, 16% in Hungary and 32% in Slovenia, according to the study.

It was only in the Baltic countries that the situation improved and the number of insolvencies fell the most. In Estonia they nearly halved.

"The environment of the economies was largely determined by the debt crisis and its consequences in western Europe," Creditreform said in the study, which also included Poland, Romania, Croatia and Slovakia.

"Overall the situation is extremely strained because of the credit crunch that is becoming apparent."

"The outlook for 2012 isn't rosy," Creditreform said. "There could be systemic financial problems in central and eastern Europe if a further deterioration in the euro area leads to fiercer deleveraging of western European banks."

The insolvencies affect companies with a total of about 230,000 employees, up by 30,000 from the previous year, according to Creditreform data.

Companies in the trade, hotel and restaurant industry were hardest hit, according to the study.

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