Articles

Everyone knows that debt capital is in short supply and expensive. The banks have pulled in their horns, victims of loan losses and regulators. After shipping issuance peaked in 2017, the Norwegian bond market turned back to oil and gas, reflecting the latter’s improving fortunes.

Still reeling from the havoc caused by the financial crisis, banks are quickly coming to the realization that they are facing an even bigger threat — an existential threat — from the onslaught of change that technology is bringing to customer behavior, crumbling the once formidable barriers to the hallowed halls of banking.

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The internet has transformed many aspects of modern life, but one sector yet to digitize is shipping.

Before getting to the substance of the banker’s survey results for 2019, this year’s brief questionnaire tells something about the state of the industry, without even a cursory look at the responses.

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The shipping industry is a major contributor to harmful air pollution, generating an estimated 2.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. In a global market, the maritime transport sector is depended upon as a reliable and cost effective means of transporting goods.

As we began the 19th week of 2019, after weeks spent in the doldrums becalmed, shipping capital markets are beginning to show signs of life, as transactions were announced and concluded.

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During the first quarter of 2019, the shipping and offshore industries raised $1.323 billion dollars
on capital markets worldwide, the lowest amount since the infamous third quarter of 2008.

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