Japan’s Iyo Bank has continued to grow its ship-finance business, with its latest figures showing lending reached a new high in the last financial year.

According to Iyo’s financial statement for the year to the end of March 2021, international ship finance reached ¥768bn ($5.5bn), compared with ¥709bn in the previous year.

The bank — based in the centre of Japan’s shipbuilding and shipowning community on the western island of Shikoku — provided a further ¥296bn to the local ship machinery and supply industries.