Bank One News

Piraeus Bank, one of Greece’s four largest lenders, said on Tuesday it had reached a deal to sell a portfolio of non-performing shipping loans to an entity affiliated with Davidson Kempner Capital Management.The agreed price will be about 53% of the portfolio’s gross book value of 400 million euros ($452 million), the bank said.The sale of the portfolio, dubbed project Dory, is subject to approval by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, a shareholder in Piraeus Bank, the lender said.The transaction will reduce Piraeus Bank’s ratio of non-performing exposures to about 15% from 16% at the end

Troubled German public-sector bank HSH Nordbank will likely need more state aid than previously thought due to deep losses in shipping lending and back taxes, the bank's supervisory board chairman said. The bank, one of the world's biggest shipping financiers, has said up to now that it may need up to 1.3 billion euros ($1.79 billion) in state backing from 2019 to 2025. "I wouldn't be surprised if we came to the conclusion, while looking at our 2013 results, that it will come out just a tick above that," Thomas Mirow told journalists late on Tuesday in comments embargoed for Wednesday. He declined to be specific because the bank's 2013 results had not been finalised yet, but said the increase would likely be in the hundreds of millions of euros.

The German KfW IPEX-Bank evaluates energy efficiency of its merchant shipping portfolio, sees EEDI a key indicator of economic advantage. KfW IPEX-Bank, one of the largest ship financing banks in the world, has evaluated together with FutureShip, a subsidiary of Germanischer Lloyd, the energy efficiency of its shipping portfolio based on the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI). The applied valuation approach is based on the standards of the International Maritime Organisation (special organisation of the United Nations) and provides an indicator for the energy efficiency and CO2 emissions of merchant vessels. From 2013 binding EEDI limits will be introduced for newbuildings.

The European Commission has authorized the proposed acquisition of the German submarine producer Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) by the American banking company, Bank One Corporation. The Commission's investigation confirmed that the operation will not create anti-competitive effects, as the transaction will not result in any overlaps between the parties' activities in the European Union. The Commission's careful investigation has also failed to establish any links between Bank One and any US defense group with respect to the acquisition of HDW nor were there any indications that other companies were involved in the financing of the acquisition.

Trico Marine Services received a commitment from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) to provide a Title XI financing relating to the construction of two 230-ft. deepwater supply vessels. The first vessel, Spirit River, was delivered in December 1998 and began a long-term charter contract, while the second vessel, Hondo River, is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 1999. The MarAd guarantee is for an aggregate of approximately $18.8 million. The debt obligations are to be amortized over a period of 15 years, beginning six months from the date of closing. Proceeds will be used to prepay amounts outstanding under the company's revolving credit facility. Bank One Capital Markets, Inc. has committed to purchase the debt obligations.

Trico Marine Services received a commitment from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) to provide a Title XI financing relating to the construction of two 230-ft. deepwater supply vessels. The first vessel, Spirit River, was delivered in December 1998 and began a long-term charter contract, while the second vessel, Hondo River, is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 1999. The MarAd guarantee is for an aggregate of approximately $18.8 million. The debt obligations are to be amortized over a period of 15 years, beginning six months from the date of closing. Proceeds will be used to prepay amounts outstanding under the Company's revolving credit facility. Bank One Capital Markets, Inc. has committed to purchase the debt obligations.

Shipowners are now better placed to cope with soaring fuel prices because of growth in trade as Asia recovers from economic crisis, industry sources and analysts said. The price of bunker fuel, which typically makes up about five percent of a shipper's total operating costs, has - over the past six months - doubled to $140 per ton. The spoils from improved conditions have not been evenly shared within the industry, with tanker owners hit the worst. Three global-pacts among oil producers to cut output and shore up prices have had a negative impact on tanker owners who now face higher bunker costs and lower shipping volumes. The producers agreed to remove from world oil production about 5.1 million bpd of crude oil…

Friede Goldman International stated that its activities related to its pending merger with Halter Marine Group were progressing on schedule. The company has received commitments from a group of banks led by Wells Fargo and Bank One for a credit facility that will meet the financing needs of the combined company. Response from shareholders of both companies to the proposed merger has been positive based on proxies received through October 25. Transition teams have been meeting in an effort to assure an organized integration of the operations and management of the two companies.

Friede Goldman International stated that its activities related to its pending merger with Halter Marine Group were progressing on schedule. The company has received commitments from a group of banks led by Wells Fargo and Bank One for a credit facility that will meet the financing needs of the combined company. Response from shareholders of both companies to the proposed merger has been positive based on proxies received through Octber 25. Transition teams have been meeting in an effort to assure an organized integration of the operations.