HSH Nordbank AG, the world’s largest financier of ships, recorded the worst full-year result since 2008 as the shipping crisis and additional tax payments prompted the bank to boost provisions.
The lender saw its loss widen to 814 million euros ($1.1 billion) from 124 million euros in 2012, it said in a statement.
The container industry, which accounts for the biggest share of ship loans among German lenders, has suffered from overcapacity since the global financial crisis triggered a trade slump and the worst decline in ship charter prices in decades.