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Key Developments and Growth in Global Ship Finance

Main findings 

1. The Petrofin Index for Global Ship Finance which commenced at 100 in 2008 is up by 1 point (from 62 in 2021 to 63), showing a rise for the first time in eleven years.
2. Top 40 Banks’ lending to shipping in 2021 is higher at US$290.12bn from $286.9bn in 2020.
3. Asian and Australian banks (APAC) show the only growth, from $100.85bn to $114.75. APAC increased their share of the Global Portfolios from 35% to 39.5%. European banks’ share declined further by US$9.78, 5.8% yoy.
4. Within Europe, the big decline continues by German banks although the trend has slowed down. Greek banks showed a yoy growth of 14.2 %, whilst Scandinavian banks continued their overall decline deemphasising lending in favour of use of their services to shipping.
5. According to Petrofin Research ©, we can provide a cautious, indicative figure for global shipfinance, including all forms of lending, leasing and alternative providers, of approx. US$500bn. The total global bank lending of all banks, including local banks, amounts to approx. US$340bn, i.e. approx. 2/3 of the global ship finance total.
6. There is increasing evidence that due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, together with the high energy prices, geographical sanctions, higher interest rates, slowdown in global growth and concerns over an incoming recession, bank lending in 2022 has been disrupted as caution prevails amongst banks. The Chinese selective lockdowns and economic slowdown has added to the above concerns and is having a temporary impact on Chinese leasing as well.