Norwegian bank DNB has said it’s lending to business is increasing, and its loans to fisheries and aquaculture are now in the billions of dollars, as “aquaculture” enters the margins of its financial reporting.
“We have a committed amount on the credit side to fishing and fish farming of 36 billion kroner (EUR 3.71 billion),” DNB’s head of marketing, Thomas Midteide, told SalmonBusiness.
“That’s the total amount,” he said, adding, “And yes, most of our exposure is to Norwegian companies. We also have minor exposures to companies in South America.”
Last year, the bank did not provide figures for aquaculture or fishing, separately, saying only that it had 44 million kroner in net impaired loans and guarantees for principal customers from the seafood industry.
In its financial reporting for the first three months of 2018, the Norwegian bank said it already had loans in place totalling EUR 3.26 billion for “fishing, fish-farming and farming”. The figure suggests the remainder is available to its fisheries clients beyond the current quarter.
