Graham Grover – Representative of DVB Bank in Tokyo

DVB has a long history as a transportation finance bank as it was for many years a part of the German national railways. In the 1990s with a change of shareholding came a decision to change the bank from a primarily domestic operation to an international operation. Since that decision was made two major acquisitions were made to achieve the level of EUR9billion in assets that exists today.

First the aviation and shipping portfolio of the Long Term Credit Bank of Japan was acquired which explains DVB’s original reason for establishing in Japan. Secondly Nedship Bank of the Netherlands was acquired so that today the shipping portfolio of the bank exceeds EUR5billion.

The bank is head-quartered in Europe, in Germany’s Frankfurt with offices in London, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bergen and Piraeus. In the Americas it has offices in New York and Curacao. In Asia our regional headquarters is in Singapore with offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Thus we try to cover all major shipping markets and as a specialist finance bank with a major commitment to the industry we take a strong interest in the industry’s maintenance of its vessels and improvement in its standards. Whilst recognising that it is each individual shipowner’s choice as to how he manages and registers his ship, we fully support the efforts of the industry associations to raise the standards of the industry and maintain its status as self-regulating.

This is in the long term interests of all concerned, whether shipowners, cargo owners or financiers and is perhaps most important in protecting the lives of those who serve on board the vessels.

As a bank we hope to increase our involvement in the shipping industry in Japan. This area, the Setonaikai, is not one we know well so we are grateful for this chance to introduce ourselves. We hope there may be opportunities, also in cooperation with local financial institutions, to offer finance in currencies other than Japanese yen, particularly in the current low interest rate environment for all currencies.

This may be very relevant in the new internationalising market where assets are priced in USDollars and charter rates also are in the same currency. Our business is as much about the management of financial risk, which includes the quality of the assets we finance, as it is about the provision of loans.

Thank you for your attention.