Global banks have emerged as key members of the ship financing market in 2025, according to the latest report on global ship financing, compiled by Petrofin Research.
The latest survey of global ship finance by Petrofin Research, which focuses primarily on the top 40 banks worldwide, found that last year the lending to shipping stood at $300.6bn, an increase of 6% from 2024’s total of $283.6bn.
BNP Paribas continues to head the bank ship finance, while there were no bank departures from ship finance in 2025, as the vast majority of banks remained positive towards shipping.
Europe still represents the biggest ship finance area at 50.4% of the top 40 banks, lending $151bn.
Asian and Australian banks (APAC) reversed their decline of 2024 and marked an 8.3% growth.
Interestingly, Japanese banks increased their share of the top 40 banks from 22% in 2024 to 26% in…
