Nothing new about bank commodity exits, history shows
Current exodus only the latest downturn in a boom-bust business
It's tough being a bank in the commodity markets nowadays. Over the past 18 months, many US and European financial institutions have either shut down or significantly scaled back their commodity units, including some firms only recently regarded as titans of the business, such as JP Morgan, Barclays and Deutsche Bank. The trend has raised questions as to whether banks have any future in commodities at all. But a quick review of recent history shows plenty of episodes where they retreated from
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