“The commodities trading landscape is changing.”

“Faced with rising costs, increased regulation and directionless markets, big banks such as Deutsche Bank are retrenching or retreating from the sector.”

“It is a trend that looks set to continue.”

“‘Sentiment-driven and largely directionless markets, alongside declining client interest, has seen total revenues for the leading 10 commodities investment bank businesses across the globe fall to just below a third of their peak, from $14.1bn in 2008 to $4.5bn in 2013, with no foreseeable prospect of recovery,’ the UK’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, said in a report published on Thursday.”

“‘At the same time, there has been a rise in regulatory costs and risks associated with undertaking this business, as one of the asset classes most affected by regulatory change,’ the report added.”

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Read full Financial Times article here.