Shipping customers are partly to blame for Danish bank Danske Bank needing to increase its impairments on loans in the first half of 2019.

In its financial report, the bank writes that impairments on loans grew to DKK 470 million (USD 70.7 million) from January until June. This is a rather large contrast compared to the same period in 2018, when Danske Bank had net reversals on previous impairments on non-performing loans totaling DKK 707 million.

2019's increase in impairments can mainly be attributed to single-name exposures within shipping, oil, gas and retail, writes the bank.

Things look quite different at competing Scandinavian bank Nordea, which also published its half-year report Thursday morning.

Net losses on non-performing loans did grow to EUR 61 million in the second quarter – but shipping and oil and gas are highlighted as two sectors, in which development was positive in the period. Both shipping and energy have previously caused many problems for Nordea.

Nordea furthermore highlights that the bank has participated in several transactions and equity issuances in the shipping industry.

English Edit: Ida Jacobsen

Danske Bank sees improvement in shipping

Nordea slashes 80 percent of losses on shipping and offshore in 2018