Niche Shipping Bank Opens in Norway

A niche bank for the shipping and offshore sectors has opened for business in Norway after years of planning.

Starting Wednesday, December 20, 2016, Maritime & Merchant Bank ASA (M&M) will service the global maritime markets from its main office in Oslo, Norway.

According to its website, the bank’s main long-term goal is to become a highly specialized niche bank for the maritime industries, primarily within the shipping and offshore service sectors. The bank will specialize in arranging and structuring mortgage lending for acquisition and refinancing purposes, providing secured lending in the form of 1st priority terms loans.

The idea for Maritime & Merchant Bank was first revealed in October 2013 with shipping industry veteran’s Arne Blystad and Henning Oldendorff, along with Nergaard Investment Partners, as its main shareholders. Initially it was scheduled to launch in second quarter of 2014.

“We are very pleased to be able to start serving our customers,” says M&M CEO Halvor Sveen. “We are fortunate to have supportive owners and stakeholders, in both our founding fathers and new investors. They have made it possible to realize the plans for a new specialized bank.”

“The sustained tight credit market for the maritime sector has left many companies owners seeking financing with few alternatives. We believe M&M can fill a need for a specialized bank with experience in shipping and offshore that is able to contribute to good solutions for our customers” says Sveen.

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