Bank axes desk

Irish bank AIB has closed its shipping desk but rumours that the department’s head has walked appear wide of the mark.

A return to concentration on core businesses appears to behind the decision to axe the dedicated desk which occurs at a time of deep global financial crisis coupled with a slump in shipping markets.

The closure follows the axing of German bank WestLB’s shipping desk in early August as part of a major restructuring of the bank’s activities.

AIB is not a major player in shipping finance with its market portfolio lagging behind compatriot rival Bank of Ireland. The bank had been an active player in lending to the shipping market for about seven years but the dedicated team was made up of just two personnel.

Rumours had circulated that Fred Kelly, a UK citizen who heads the department from AIB’s Sydney office, had left the bank in the wake of the desk’s closure. A source close to the situation, however, denied this saying Kelly continues to do general asset financing for the bank.

The other person on the shipping desk, London-based Michael McNally, also remains with the bank and is believed to have taken on a property portfolio.

The banking source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said AIB will continue to do banking deals but on a case-by-case basis.

AIB has been involved in some syndicated deals but has not itself lead any shipping deals.

Like AIB, shipping was not a core business for WestLB which was rumoured to have only given personnel in the department less that a week’s notice that it was to close.

Rumours that the German bank was also chopping its aviation department were denied by a spokesperson in August with the explanation that the desk was being “refocused within Dusseldorf.