Credit Suisse, a major shipping lender, said on Friday that it continues to regard maritime clients as a key component in its future strategy.
“Ship financing remains an integral part of our service offering and we remain committed to our shipping clients,” the Zurich-based lender said in an email to TradeWinds.
The response comes one day after the bank announced that it had obtained CHF 50bn ($53.7bn) in short-term emergency liquidity from the Swiss central bank — and a TradeWinds article discussing what this might mean for Credit Suisse’s future in shipping.
The bank had not immediately responded to a request for comment on 16 March.
Credit Suisse is listed as the biggest lender to Greek shipping with a portfolio of $5.2bn in drawn and about $400m in committed but undrawn loans as of the end of 2021, according to Petrofin Research.
The Athens-based research company estimates the bank’s total shipping loan portfolio at about $10bn, making it the world’s 10th-biggest shipping lender.
In the article, several shipping sources had expressed the view that the support received by the bank likely meant that its shipping operations would remain unaffected — particularly in view of how well they fit with its stated aim to focus more on private wealth management, which is inextricably linked with shipping.
Other sources, however, pointed out that possible regulator meddling in a future restructuring might eventually tamper with that strategy and that fresh lending initiatives might slow down or stop until the dust settles.
