Shipping is hitting NordLB, the German Landesbank, hard. It has warned on profits after setting aside an extra €435m to cover potential losses on shipping loans.
The bank made an €84m net loss in the first three months of 2016, largely down to its shipping exposure, down from a €156m net profit in the same period a year earlier.
Gunter Dunkel, chief executive, said: “We don’t expect an improvement in the coming quarters in the situation on the shipping markets. As a result, we expect significantly rising risk provisions. On top of this, we will continue to reduce our shipping finance portfolio, even though this will put further pressure on our results.”
Other German lenders such as HSH Nordbank and Commerzbank have been burnt by shipping too and are actively reducing their shipping portfolio too.
