Barclays bank announced on Tuesday that it would stop trading soft and agricultural commodities with hedge funds as part of an overhaul designed to repair its battered image.
Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins said that the bank would stop speculative trading in such commodities for "reputational reasons." A source at the bank told Reuters that by "speculative," Jenkins meant exclusively hedge funds.Barclays will continue to sell index-linked soft commodity and agricultural products.
Stopping trading with hedge funds, Barclays joins a very small group of banks. Groups who complain that speculation in agricultural commodities drives up food prices which impacts on poorer countries hardest. Commerzbank restricts trading in agricultural products, but Deutsche Bank last month ended a trading moratorium on agricultural derivatives.
At least one agricultural trader has left the firm as part of the restructuring, which will include at least 3,700 job cuts.
Reproduced from an article that appeared in Finalternatives.com
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