Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE) said Wednesday it isn't planning a
firesale of its shipping credit portfolio, which amounts to around
18 billion euros ($23.6 billion).
"We want to sell our loans over time and preserve value; there
won't be any firesales, which includes shipping credit," Stefan
Otto, who is responsible for non-core assets at Commerzbank's
Deutsche Schiffsbank AG unit, said in a statement.
The bank was responding to market speculation that it is
struggling to sell the portfolio, and that bids are so low that the
necessary writedowns related to a sale would jeopardize the bank's
equity. The share price tumbled on the speculation. At 1130 GMT,
Commerzbank was trading down 3.1% at EUR6.83.
Deutsche Schiffsbank was once one of the world's largest
shipping financiers. In November 2012, Commerzbank said it was
targeting a 40% reduction in shipping loans by 2016.
According to a report in Boersen-Zeitung earlier Wednesday that
cited sources close to the company, Commerzbank is in final
negotiations with France's BNP Paribas over the sale of the German
bank's custody services unit. The deal will be signed by mid-July,
according to the report. Commerzbank declined to comment on the
report. The unit, which has custody of EUR92 billion of assets,
could be valued at over EUR200 million.
Write to Isabel Gomez at isabel.gomez@dowjones.com
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