Euro banks scale down exposure to O&G sector

Problem loans: The HSBC headquarters at the Canary Wharf financial district in London, HSBC in recent months considered selling its loan exposure to Premier Oil Plc. – Reuters

LONDON: After hanging on for two years of depressed energy prices, some European banks that lent to the oil and gas industry are starting to scale down their exposure.

Lenders including UniCredit SpA, HSBC Holdings Plc and ING Groep NV have either sold some of the loans they made to energy companies in the past two months or held discussions with potential buyers, according to people familiar with the situations, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorised to discuss them publicly.