Integrating banks’ decision on financing dry bulk shipping: a multivariable approach

Abstract

ABSTRACTShipping is characterized by extreme changes in revenues, operating expenses and asset values, making shipping banks’ final decision for financing shipping market considerably harder. This paper develops a practical decision tool based on the estimation of the credibility factor in the decision-making process, each bank’s policy, and the most significant variables arising from both its operating environment and the dry bulk market. Revealed relationships between bank’s internal environment, its own policy, and dry-bulk shipping market conditions through GDP growth of China constitute a newly presented decision framework in shipping finance. The values of credibility factor implicate either an aggressive or passive defensive strategy taking into account the GDP China changes: Consistent with the economic growth of China, a bank’s holds an aggressive policy if the credibility coefficient is about one. On the other hand, the model predicts that a less aggressive policy in combination with the increase of China’s GDP would drive to the decrease of bank’s loan grants.