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Hamburg (dpa) - The huge write-offs in the banking industry on ship financing may have been premature from the point of view of the Hamburg Warburg Bank.

"After the crisis years, there is a sustained recovery in the shipping markets," reported the financial institution in Hamburg on Monday.

"In view of the current strong development as well as the considerable value corrections that have cost taxpayers billions, especially at Landesbanken, the question arises whether it was right to make the corrections under great time pressure."

Landesbanken such as NordLB in Hanover and HSH Nordbank, which no longer existed in its former form, had granted ship loans on a large scale.

When world trade collapsed with the global financial crisis, there was great overcapacity in shipping.

As a result, the banks had to write off rotten ship financing worth billions on their balance sheets.

"Not least as a result of the restructuring, Germany's maritime economy has suffered great damage and has lost its importance in international competition," said the Warburg Bank.

The industry association VSM recently pointed out that the de facto collapse of the market for ship financing had made it considerably more difficult for shipyards to access financial resources.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210510-99-539812 / 4