Regional German bank HSH Nordbank will in future concentrate its real estate activities more strongly on northern Germany and the domestic market as part of a strategic reorientation, the bank said this week.
Regional German bank HSH Nordbank will in future concentrate its real estate activities more strongly on northern Germany and the domestic market as part of a strategic reorientation, the bank said this week.
HSH said its core business units Corporate Clients, Private Banking, Savings Banks and Real Estate will in future have an even greater focus on northern Germany and domestic clients. 'The changes in the global banking landscape necessitate a significant restructuring of HSH Nordbank. Our aim is to ensure that the bank once again has the sufficient flexibility need in its regionally anchored core fields,' CEO Dirk Jens Nonnenmacher said.
Although anchored in northern Germany, HSH Nordbank's real estate unit has recently also been active elsewhere in Europe. In 2007, it did most of its new business outside Germany, financing deals involving top international investors. Financing activities in the UK amounted to EUR 2.7 bn, while EUR 1.8 bn was generated in the Nordic region. New business in the Netherlands came to EUR 900 mln.
HSH Nordbank has been able to draw on a government credit facility of up to EUR 30 bn since end-November to shore up its financial position. The bank recently announced a write-down of EUR 450 mln on a portfolio of structured products and further write-downs are expected in the fourth quarter.
HSH is also considering scaling down its portfolios and disposing of non-strategic activities as part of the strategic review. A final decision on the restructuring process will be taken in February 2009, following discussions with federal government agencies and regional banking associations.
