Maritime & Merchant Bank ASA (M&M), a niche bank for the shipping and offshore sector, opened its doors for business on December 20, 2016.

M&M will provide secured lending in the form of 1st priority terms loans.

The bank will service the global maritime markets from its main office in Oslo, Norway.

“We are very pleased to be able to start serving our customers,” Halvor Sveen, M&M CEO, said.

He added that the sustained tight credit market for the maritime sector has left many companies owners seeking financing with few alternatives.

“We believe M&M can fill a need for a specialized bank with experience in shipping and offshore that is able to contribute to good solutions for our customers,” Sveen said.