Hamburg-based HSH Nordbank registered a preliminary loss of 2.8 billion euros (3.6 billion dollars) for the year 2008, bank officials said Friday, dpa reported.
The bank, run by the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, wrote down 1.6 billion euros in losses for 2008.
Additionally, it has to shoulder an extra 1.4 billion euros to cover the risks associated with its credit business.
The bank, which needs to achieve a core capital ratio of seven per cent, is suggesting a series of measures to counter the losses. These include raising equity by 3 billion euros.
In November, federal government agency SoFFin agreed to provide HSH Nordbank with up to 30 billion euros in guarantees to support it.