Goldman Still Top for Commodities During Dire Year for Banks

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. remained the largest bank by commodities revenue in 2015 in what was one of the worst years for investment firms in at least a decade.

The New York-based company made the most money from raw materials among the top 12 investment banks for a second consecutive year, according to a report published Thursday by Coalition, a London-based business Analytics firm. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. were joint second.

Banks scaled down or abandoned their commodities businesses in the past few years amid increased regulatory scrutiny and reduced investment by hedge funds and other large traders. Banks’ combined revenue from raw materials sank 18 percent to $4.6 billion last year, the lowest in more than a decade, and down about two-thirds from the banks’ moneymaking peak in 2008, Coalition said in February.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index, a measure of investor returns from 22 raw materials, slumped 25 percent last year, the most since the financial crisis in 2008, as China’s economic slowdown curbed demand and exacerbated supply gluts.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas SA came fourth to sixth in 2015, Coalition said. The company tracks commodities activities including power and gas, oil, metals, coal and agriculture.

To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka de Sousa in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Nicholas Larkin

By: Agnieszka de Sousa

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