German shipping bank Nord/LB has revealed it has had "more than 10" expressions of interest from investors seeking to take a stake.
A tender process was launched at the end of September.
Now the lender has drawn up a shortlist of strategic and financial investors whose offers fit best with its own vision.
They have had access to its books since mid-October, it revealed.
"At the same time, the state of Lower Saxony, as the majority shareholder in Nord/LB, is also reviewing whether to participate in a capital increase as part of the bank’s investment management."
Chairman Thomas Burkle said the bank was also making good progress in reducing the non-performing shipping loan (NPL) portfolio.
Shipping portfolio slashed
It has cut its entire maritime book from EUR 19bn ($21.7bn) at the end of 2015 to EUR 11.5bn now.
Now it wants to chop the NPL part of that from EUR 7.7bn to less than EUR 5bn by the end of 2019.
"Here the bank is now making big strides, with the result that it will probably be possible to reach this target significantly earlier," it said.
Since 2016, the bank has made loan loss provisions of EUR 3.9bn for its shipping portfolio - through its own money and without any state aid.
“These measures were in line with the specifications contained in current accounting rules and also matched the expectations of the regulatory authorities, rating agencies, the owners and the public," Burkle said.
It said in August it was working on a new capitalisation plan that could see outside investors brought in.
Risk provisioning fell sharply to EUR 31m in the six months to 30 June, down from EUR 437m a year ago.
But it still expects further provisions this year.
Ship financing NPLs were cut to EUR 7.7bn in the first six months, from EUR 9.1bn a year ago.
