Greek shipping turns to local lenders

Three Greek banks - Piraeus, National and Alpha - are among the world's top 40 lenders in financing oceangoing shipping, as the Greek credit sector has increased its share in funding Greek shipping companies in the face of a global reduction in marine lending, according to 2017 data compiled by Petrofin Bank Research.

The total credit issued to shipping companies dropped $10 billion euros on an annual basis last year to $345 billion, as credit institutions continue their deleveraging, and the sector is among their main targets. The above amount concerns the top 40 banks in ship finance. Still, although bank credit has declined 25 percent since 2008, the global fleet has expended by 28 percent, as shipowners and companies have resorted to alternative forms of financing by private investment funds - directly or via the bond market, mainly in Oslo.

Likewise, borrowing by...

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