The timing of the establishment of new Oslo-based shipping bank Maritime & Merchant Bank is historically good, says Norwegian Dagfinn Lunde, who spent many years as Head of Shipping at major bank DVB, and who is set to join the Board of Directors at the new bank.
Maritime & Merchant Bank was recently approved by the Norwegian Financial Supervision Authority (FSA) and is currently preparing to issue shares, planning to raise USD 300-350 million earmarked for operations. The bank is scheduled to launch its business on April 1st, approximately six months after the first blueprints for the enterprise were made public on November 13th.
"Right now this is a very solid niche market for a bank like this, and there are very few banks like it. The price one has to pay today in terms of risks is probably the best one we've seen in many, many years," Dagfinn Lunde tells ShippingWatch:
"Today one can almost finance a ship at scrap value, and far below market price with a very nice coverage margin. A level the likes of which I haven't see before in my years in shipping."
High profile DVB exec turns to ship management
CEO of Maritime & Merchant Bank, Halvor Sveen, told ShippingWatch recently that there are interesting opportunities in the market, which is currently moving away from a downward cycle, with favorable prices on assets and rates that are currently increasing in certain sectors.
"But smaller and medium-sized players, even those with an excellent reputation, can’t take advantage of that without accessing finance,” said Halvor Sveen , who along with the rest of the team behind Maritime & Merchant Bank plans to target private as well as stock-listed carriers with fleets ranging from 5 to 50 vessels.
Dagfinn Lunde left his job as Director and Head of Shipping at DVB in late 2013. Maritime & Merchant Bank's Board also consists of Endre Ording Sund, Henning Oldendorff, Arne Blystad, Klaus Kjærulff, Alex Nergaard and Pål Utvik.
Dagfinn Lunde was recently appointed as new Chairman of Singapore-based ship management company Executive Ship Management, and the renowned Norwegian export in global financing and shipping has also joined the Boards for a series of companies in Singapore-Indian Dynamic Drilling Group.
Norwegian shipping bank hires former DVB head
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