Banks favoring private shipowners
Banks that finance shipping are increasingly opting to lend to private owners whose wealth is at stake in the companies rather than to publicly traded businesses, according to George Economou, chief executive officer of DryShips Inc.
?Some banks will still look at private companies, some banks will not lend to a public company,? Economou said in an interview in Athens this week.
Banks are concluding that closely held owners are more careful with their money, Economou said. [Bloomberg]