NordLB to Inject Capital into BLB after Shipping Writedowns

German state-controlled lender NordLB will inject money into its loss-making Bremer Landesbank (BLB) unit, which is suffering from a weak shipping market that is chipping away at its capital.

BLB said it booked a writedown of 1.6 billion euros ($1.71 billion) on its shipping book in 2016.

NordLB said that it would, however, not need to tap its own public-sector shareholders to stump up the money for the cash injection.

NordLB has said in the past that it expects a 2016 loss of more than 1 billion euros.

BLB, which has around 30 billion euros in assets, was taken over completely by NordLB in January.

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze)