HSH Nordbank’s Jumbo-Schiffspfandbrief named “Deal of the Year” by Marine Money
Hamburg/Kiel, March 3, 2009 - The world’s first Jumbo-Schiffspfandbrief (ship pfandbrief) has received the highest accolade of the prestigious magazine “Marine Money”: HSH Nordbank has been accorded the “Deal of the Year 2008 – Public Debt Award“.
The idea of using the credits of a large fleet of various types of cargo ships as “pawn” (German: “Pfand") for the securities met with ready acceptance by the market. HSH Nordbank’s Jumbo-Schiffspfandbrief (ISIN: DE000HSH2P49), which bears a coupon of 4.25 percent, matures on January 15, 2010. The issue has a volume of EUR 1 billion and is the world’s first ship pfandbrief to be rated by an agency (Moody’s).
To date, the volume of ship pfandbriefs issued by HSH Nordbank has trebled, with 8 registered and 25 bearer instruments issued since the beginning of 2008, all drawing on the same cover pool. German pfandbrief legislation provides a further guarantee of quality. The statutory requirements with respect to the safety of this asset class are so strict in Germany that pfandbriefs are held in high esteem by conservative investors all over the world. To illustrate, only 60 percent of a ship’s sustainable value may be allocated to the cover pool, while further statutory requirements serve to ensure a high degree of safety for these securities.
“This award acknowledges the merits of a crisis-resistant instrument that has found great favor with our clients and is also an inexpensive source of funding for the bank,” says Harald Kuznik, Global Head of Shipping. The pfandbrief issue provided the Bank with liquid funds on favorable terms and conditions. This type of security is thus for both the Bank and its clients a valuable and reliable factor on which the Bank can build in the future, too.
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