The exodus of traditional senior-debt lenders from shipping may or may not be reversible over the coming years, but the tightening vise-grip of governmental regulation on banking will not be.
That was the consensus from a group of ship lenders actually still doing business during a panel discussion at today’s Capital Link Maritime Forum in New York.
Count Francis Birkeland of ABN AMRO — a bank that has only increased its presence as others have rushed out — as one who maintains lenders have their backs turned only temporarily.
