01 / Bertrand Dehouck, BNP Paribas

Don’t let the title fool you. When veteran financier Bertrand Dehouck was made global head of transportation capital markets at BNP Paribas recently, it would be a mistake to think his job is confined to what in other cultures may be called investment banking.

In the BNP universe, ‘capital markets’ is more of a nod to the amounts of capital needed to fund real assets — a description that certainly applies to shipping and other modes of transportation.

It gives Dehouck responsibility for the world’s biggest shipping loans portfolio, estimated at about $23bn. The French bank has been unassailable for several years as the world’s largest individual lender to the industry.

The new job stems from a move to unite transport lending, previously divided into three big geographical regions, under a central team.

BNP Paribas is seen as one of the banks that increased lending during the first part of 2025 as owners sought to refinance Chinese leasing arrangements as part of the fallout of tension between the US and China.

With all systemic banks facing increased pressures due to Basel IV requirements and other challenges, it will be interesting to see where Dehouck takes the shipping portfolio over the next few years.

02 / Chen Huaiyu, Export-Import Bank of China

Chen Huaiyu took the helm at Export-Import Bank of China (Cexim) in February 2025, inheriting an institution that Petrofin ranks as the world's second-largest ship financier, with a portfolio approaching $19bn.

The numbers behind him are formidable. Since 1994, Cexim has extended more than Yuan1trn ($140bn) in shipbuilding credit, supporting the export of in excess of 10,000 vessels.

It has backed landmark projects including China’s first large cruiseship, its first 174,000 cu m dual-fuel liquefied natural gas carrier, and its first 24,000 teu containership — each a milestone in the country’s push toward building higher-end, greener ships.

What sets Cexim apart is its drive to internationalise the yuan in ship finance. The bank provided Singapore’s Eastern Pacific Shipping with the first cross-border yuan financing for an international owner, and has since extended yuan loans to Petrobras and Vale.

Chen’s background — decades at Bank Of China, rising to vice-president, followed by a stint as Hainan’s vice-governor — gives him rare fluency in cross-border finance and trade policy. As geopolitics, decarbonisation and supply-chain shifts reshape shipping, he is positioned to connect state strategy with capital deployment at a global scale.

03 / Knut Haaland, DNB Carnegie

It was another banner year for shipping issuances in the Oslo bond market. Numerous investment banks were heavily involved, including DNB Carnegie, Nordea, SEB, Crédit Agricole, Arctic Securities, Fearnleys and Clarksons Securities.

Knut Haaland, managing director at DNB Carnegie, was front and centre. Haaland has been the global head of the bank’s fixed-income origination division since 2013.

“Knut is ‘the man’ when it comes to doing a NOK bond,” a chief financial officer of a US-listed company told Lloyd’s List.

Haaland was praised for his ability to structure bond offerings and “tell the story” to investors, and for his “art” of finding the right price — one that garners the most for the issuer, without “pushing so hard that you push people out of the book”.

The shipping industry has raised nearly $3bn in the Norwegian bond market during 2025, excluding offshore and passenger shipping.

DNB Carnegie participated in many of these bond sales, according to Marine Money’s deal database, including Norwegian bonds of Navios Partners ($300m) and Stolt-Nielsen ($150m) in October; International Seaways ($250m) in September; Ocean Yield ($150m) in August; Odfjell ($97m) in May; Navigator Gas ($40m) in March; and Scorpio Tankers ($200m) in January.

04 / Hwang Ki-yeon, Export-Import Bank of Korea

Hwang Ki-yeon was appointed president and chairman of Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) in November 2025, becoming the second consecutive internal appointee to lead an institution that had traditionally favoured outsiders with bureaucratic backgrounds.

The choice signals continuity — and an expectation that Hwang will deepen policy finance support for South Korea-US trade cooperation and advanced strategic industries.

That mandate arrives as Kexim cements its position among the world’s top ship financiers. According to Petrofin, the bank’s shipping portfolio reached $12.1bn in 2024, up $2.1bn from the previous year, surpassing Japan’s SMBC to claim sixth place globally.

The growth reflects Seoul’s intensifying support for its shipbuilding industry. The momentum has only strengthened this year as South Korea committed to helping the Trump administration revive American shipbuilding, hoping to regain market share lost to China amid shifting geopolitical winds.

Kexim’s financing firepower is expected to play a central role in that strategy.

05 / Akihiro Fukutome, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

Akihiro Fukutome has led SMBC since April 2022, charged with expanding the Japanese banking giant’s overseas footprint. Under his watch, its shipping portfolio has grown to $11.7bn as of end-2024 — up $1.7bn from the previous year — ranking seventh globally, according to Petrofin.

The bank brings more than 50 years of maritime finance experience and currently finances more than 600 vessels internationally, with particular strength in LNG shipping. As a Poseidon Principles signatory, SMBC has embedded climate considerations into its credit process. Transactions require assessment not just of traditional metrics like loan-to-value, but also the environmental profile of both the asset and the counterparty.

For SMBC, decarbonisation is a strategic imperative aligned with its net zero 2050 target. Yet the bank also takes a pragmatic view, recognising that newbuildings — while more fuel-efficient — carry higher price tags and residual risk compared with secondhand tonnage ordered years ago.

The approach reflects a broader balancing act across the industry: pursuing greener portfolios while managing the financial realities of a market in transition.

06 / Chen Yu, Bocom Financial Leasing

Appointed in September as head of Bocom Financial Leasing, Chen Yu brings a treasury and capital‑markets background from Bank of Communications, well suited to a business that increasingly hinges on complex financial structuring rather than plain vanilla lease deals.

Bocom Leasing sits at the apex of China’s leasing merchant fleet, within a national portfolio of more than 3,100 vessels, and its own shipping assets are expected to reach around Yuan160bn, or more than $22bn, by the end of 2025.

But the competitive landscape is changing fast amid the lasting effects of US port fees targeting Chinese‑linked vessels and shifting market dynamics. According to Clarksons, new foreign business won by Chinese lessors this year has slumped to a decade low.

Navigating geopolitical fallout, elevated asset values and slower overseas demand, Chen’s task is to preserve Bocom’s scale and discipline — and, in doing so, help define the next phase of Chinese ship finance.

Six years after their launch, the Poseidon Principles have gathered 36 leading banks, representing about four fifths of all bank lending to shipping, the latest signatory being French bank Sfil.

During 2025, it has also introduced a new associate membership for other financial institutions, such as hedge funds and private equity, and has solidified governance with a formal peer review system and an advisory council.

The aim is to further improve transparency, stakeholder engagement and the scheme’s long-term direction.

The principles have always been about providing a framework for responsible lending to shipping that is aligned with the IMO’s aims for net zero emissions by 2050.

The end of 2025 sees a landmark change at the top for the Poseidon Principles, with Michael Parker of Citi stepping down as chair and handing over to Paul Taylor of Société Générale, with ING Bank’s Stephen Fewster as vice-chair.

But it’s important to note that, as some sustainability projects fold in the Trump era, including the recent dissolution of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, the Poseidon Principles do not seem to be taking a backwards step.

08 / Andrian Dacy, JP Morgan

Andy Dacy is possibly a controversial inclusion in our list of top ship financiers, although there is little doubting his wide influence as chief executive of JP Morgan Asset Management’s Global Transportation Group.

The bank has a lengthy history of lending to the industry and has been an equity participant as well. Nowadays, though, it is more likely to pop up as a shipowner — in some cases, competing for ships and projects with former clients — and that is very much Dacy’s department.

Shipping is not the fund’s sole focus and its assets range over the full gamut of transportation modes, from buses to rail and aviation. But shipping is understood to be the largest individual part of it and comprises well over 150 vessels.

The bank has traditionally occupied a special place in the corridors of US power and recently pledged a new $1.5trn ‘Security and Resiliency Initiative’ to finance and invest in critical industries as defined by the Trump administration’s vision of restoring American manufacturing and boosting national economic security.

With supply chains, energy security and even shipbuilding among the areas garnering new attention in today’s US, it will be interesting to see how JP Morgan’s involvement in it all is manifested.

09 / Mark Friedman, Evercore

It has been yet another busy year of shipping deals for Mark Friedman, Evercore’s senior managing director of strategic advisory services.

New York-based investment bank Evercore specialises in mergers and acquisitions. “We’ve been super active,” Friedman told Lloyd’s List. “I don’t think anyone else is close.”

Evercore represented the special committee of CoolCo in its sale to Eastern Pacific Shipping. CoolCo accepted Eastern Pacific’s offer of $9.65 per share in late September and is delisting.

Evercore is also representing the board of Zim, which is soliciting offers in the wake of a reported management buyout bid from Zim chief executive Eli Glickman that also involves Israeli shipping magnate Rami Ungar (Zim has declined to comment).

Evercore’s involvement in the board’s efforts to solicit other offers was first reported by Israeli financial publication Calcalist in mid-September. Friedman confirmed that Evercore is representing Zim’s board. “That’s an important one. It’s super interesting,” he said.

Evercore represented Excelerate in its $1bn acquisition of New Fortress Energy’s Jamaican assets in March, including an LNG import terminal, a floating storage and regasification unit, and a power plant.

2025 began with the finishing touches being put on the $1bn-plus Navig8 Group sale to Adnoc Logistics & Services. That transaction was announced in June 2024 but didn’t close until the following January. Evercore advised Navig8.

“There are also a couple of things going on now that haven’t been publicly announced,” added Friedman.

Asked what is driving M&A activity, he said: “There is a combination of consolidation and privatisation that is dramatically shrinking the public market universe. That is a long-term trend that is continuing.

“Notwithstanding the fact that in some cases, we’re seeing better stock valuations recently, the valuations are still not strong enough to have some companies stay public. There may be points in the cycle where valuations are fine, but through the cycle, valuations for shipping are generally subpar.”

As head of shipping, Christina Margelou has steered Eurobank to within touching distance of being the top bank for Greek shipping, as its banks steadily eat up market share in funding the mighty Greek-owned fleet.

Eurobank’s shipping division finances both secondhand acquisitions and newbuildings, serving medium and large Greek and Cypriot shipping groups active in dry bulk, tanker and container markets.

A disciplined approach to growth as guided by Margelou is going hand-in-hand with an increasing emphasis on sustainability-linked finance as the bank integrates innovation and ESG principles into its financing strategy.

The approach, coupled with Eurobank’s long-term engagement with the maritime community, looks to provide a stable foundation for future expansion as the industry transitions toward greater resilience, transparency and innovation.

Eurobank’s shipping portfolio is now approaching $5bn, including committed capital for newbuilding projects, reflecting a clear expansion trajectory across Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and the UK.

Recent activity in Cyprus alone has added a further $245m to its exposure in the Greek and Cypriot markets, highlighting the bank’s growing regional footprint.

The Top 10 in ship finance ranking is compiled by the Lloyd’s List editorial team and considers the most influential people in commercial banking, investment banking and alternative finance