DVB Bank SE

DVB Bank’s roots date to 18 May 1923, when it was founded as Deutsche Verkehrs-Kredit-Bank AG by a group of banks and industrial companies. Its original mandate was closely linked to the German railway system: the institution provided credit associated with freight settlement for the German Reichsbahn. This origin gave the bank a transport-sector identity from the outset, although its initial focus was substantially narrower than the international aviation and shipping finance activities associated with the later DVB brand. Following the Second World War, the bank continued to specialize in transport-related credit and cargo settlement. In 1949, its two principal locations in Frankfurt and Hamburg were brought together, and Frankfurt became the head-office location. During part of its German expansion, the institution operated branches in several other German cities. Its ownership and institutional context were also connected to the German railway system; when the bank was placed on the stock exchange in 1988, the German Federal Railways held 75.1 percent of its shares. The institution changed its name as its commercial and legal identity developed. In 1991 it became Deutsche Verkehrs-Bank AG, followed by Deutsche VerkehrsBank AG in 1997. In 2002, it adopted the name DVB Bank AG. On 1 October 2008, it began operating under the name DVB Bank SE, reflecting its European company form. By this stage, DVB had moved beyond its historic railway-related role and was recognized as an international specialist in transport finance. The later business was organized around three principal transport areas: aviation, shipping and land transport. DVB served clients across international markets and maintained offices in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, Curaçao, Singapore and Tokyo. Its specialist model relied on sector expertise and asset-based credit analysis, including assessment of aircraft, vessels, vehicles, transport operators and the cyclical markets in which those assets were employed. The bank was part of DZ BANK Group, one of the defining ownership and strategic relationships in its later history. The financial crisis and the extended weakness in the container-shipping sector created serious difficulties. A transport specialist with significant shipping exposure was vulnerable to declining freight rates, falling asset values and borrower stress. DZ BANK considered selling DVB to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in 2015, but the discussions did not lead to a completed sale of the whole institution. In 2017, DZ BANK used a statutory squeeze-out to acquire the shares held by DVB’s minority shareholders. DVB consequently became wholly owned by DZ BANK, and its public trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange ended. DZ BANK subsequently attempted to dispose of DVB as a complete business. When offers were considered insufficient and the shipping portfolio remained under pressure, the owner moved toward selling individual business segments and portfolios. In early 2019, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group agreed to acquire DVB’s aviation-finance portfolio, whose reported volume was approximately EUR 5.6 billion. This transaction was a significant divestment of a DVB activity, but it was not a sale of the bank as a whole. The available reference material reports that DVB’s consolidated result before taxes in 2020 was a loss of EUR 294.8 million. Total assets were approximately EUR 10.2 billion and nominal customer lending approximately EUR 3.9 billion. These data sit within a period of portfolio reduction and restructuring. Publicly available material does not clearly establish whether DVB Bank continued as a standalone operating brand after the portfolio disposals; therefore, its current status should be treated as unresolved.

• 2020

  DVB reported a large pre-tax loss

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  The bank reported a consolidated loss before taxes of EUR 294.8 million, with total assets of approximately EUR 10.2 billion.

• 2019

  Aviation-finance portfolio sold to MUFG

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group agreed to acquire DVB’s aviation-finance portfolio, reported at about EUR 5.6 billion in volume.

• 2017

  DVB became wholly owned by DZ BANK

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  A squeeze-out transferred minority shares to DZ BANK, after which trading in DVB shares was discontinued.

• 2008

  DVB Bank SE legal form adopted

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  From 1 October, the bank operated as DVB Bank SE.

• 2002

  Name changed to DVB Bank AG

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  The bank adopted the shorter DVB Bank name.

• 1997

  Name changed to Deutsche VerkehrsBank AG

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  The institution updated its corporate name as its transport-finance business developed.

• 1991

  Name changed to Deutsche Verkehrs-Bank AG

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  The bank adopted the Deutsche Verkehrs-Bank AG name.

• 1988

  Shares were admitted to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  The institution was listed on the Frankfurt exchange; the German Federal Railways held a 75.1 percent stake at the time.

• 1949

  Frankfurt became the head-office location

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  The bank consolidated its principal Frankfurt and Hamburg locations and established its head office in Frankfurt.

• 1923

  DVB’s predecessor was founded

  [1]DVB Banken.wikipedia.org

  Deutsche Verkehrs-Kredit-Bank AG was established on 18 May to provide credit associated with freight settlement for the German Reichsbahn.

Specialist international transport financier serving aviation, shipping and land-transport markets.

• Transport finance

  Aviation finance

  DVB financed aircraft and aviation-sector businesses as part of its international transport-finance platform. The activity served as one of the bank’s principal specialist divisions and involved asset-backed and corporate financing for participants in commercial aviation. The aviation portfolio was later sold to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in an agreement announced in 2019, with the portfolio reported at approximately EUR 5.6 billion in volume.

• Transport finance

  Shipping finance

  Shipping finance was a core DVB business, covering financing connected with vessels, shipowners and maritime transport operators. The division was exposed to the prolonged downturn in global container shipping and to changes in freight rates and vessel values. Weakness in this portfolio contributed to pressure on the bank and complicated attempts to sell DVB as an integrated institution.

• Transport finance

  Land-transport finance

  Land-transport finance reflected DVB’s historical connection with railway and freight credit and its later specialist work with commercial road and rail transport. The offering supported transport assets and businesses through sector-focused lending and related financial services. Public reference material does not provide a complete current product catalogue or confirm the continuing availability of this line under the DVB brand.

• 2019

  DVB’s aviation-finance portfolio was sold to MUFGM&A

  Background

  The transaction followed the failure to find a satisfactory buyer for DVB as a complete specialist bank.

  Action taken

  Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group agreed to acquire the aviation-finance portfolio.

  Aftermath

  The deal transferred a major DVB business line but did not constitute an acquisition of DVB Bank as a whole.

  Reported aviation-finance portfolio volume. (2019)

  Source

• 2018

  DZ BANK pursued portfolio-by-portfolio disposalsStrategy

  Background

  A buyer for DVB as a complete business could not be secured, while low offers and pressure in shipping finance reduced the attractiveness of a whole-bank transaction.

  Action taken

  DZ BANK offered individual DVB business tranches and portfolios for sale instead of continuing to rely solely on a whole-bank disposal.

  Aftermath

  The strategy led to the later sale of DVB’s aviation-finance portfolio to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

  Source

• 2017

  DZ BANK completed a squeeze-out of DVB minority shareholdersM&A

  Background

  DVB’s ownership structure was being consolidated after earlier efforts to position the specialist bank for a possible sale.

  Action taken

  DZ BANK transferred the shares of the remaining minority shareholders to itself under German stock-corporation law, making DVB wholly owned.

  Aftermath

  Trading in DVB shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange was discontinued, and the bank could be restructured without a public minority shareholder base.

  Source

1. 1DVB Banken.wikipedia.org