Tougher for shipping banks to refinance debt

[HAMBURG] Shipping banks need to refinance about 35 billion euros (S$60.57 billion) in loans in the next two years amid the container industry's prolonged crisis, according to Deutsche Bank.

"About 80 per cent of that is covered by European banks, of which some may not find it very easy these days to refinance debt," said Klaus Stoltenberg, global head of shipping at Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank, at a conference in Hamburg.

European shipping lenders led by Germany's HSH Nordbank, Commerzbank and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale are facing rising losses on their shipping loans. The container industry, which accounts for the biggest share of ship loans among German lenders, has suffered from overcapacity since the global financial crisis triggered a trade slump and the worst decline in charter prices in decades.