When the priest Seamus Finn received an email last week from Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street banking giant problem, has been in his mind.
"We are ready to go back to them, since they are talking about commodities, said:" The Finn, who is responsible for the Oblates, Washington Catholic group, with Goldman Sachs shares the same beliefs investment.
Decided to invest in social consciousness, driven by the Finnish research group has been concerned about the bank's commodities activities, since 2008, when the spike in energy and agricultural products caused food riots in Africa. The problem is whether the bank's trading activities artificially drive up food prices.
Preemptive news from Goldman Sachs last week's Senate hearing on the banks of commodities activities, send in advance, assert physical assets, such as aluminum warehouse, the company's investment is not driving up prices. But it leaves unanswered many Finns bank is doing what the problems in the field.
(Goldman Sachs moved to Central Park on Wednesday criticized metals business, announced that it will provide customers with instant access to the stored aluminum.
Statement sent to the Finns wide, was later released and did not address his attention: no one other than the banks themselves know for sure how much of their commodity trading sector, how much they, their trade, or how much money.
"We hope that more disclosure," Finn said.
He is unlikely to get his wish. Although the country's largest banks are required to disclose their activities in a number of consumer-oriented businesses, such as mortgage loans, there are no similar requirements, they do commodities.
Commodity "income" According to reports, securities and banking regulators figures wildly different - may not provide an accurate reflection of the size of enterprises.
Most banks reported some of the numbers, but one of the largest - Morgan Stanley - can not put a dollar figures merchandise revenues in more than a decade, only the percentage change over the same period last year, its securities filing reports. None Supplied costs, wages or bonus numbers, it can not speculate on the relative profitability.
"I do not think you have any bank properly disclosed commodity revenues, George Kuznetsov said:" The research and analysis in the league, the head, the British consulting company, employing more than 100 researchers, consider public disclosure and conduct interviews, estimated transaction investment banking revenues.
This problem is becoming increasingly important as politicians to better understand the risks they are taking by banks owned or chartered by a metal warehouse tankers, and as few physical commodity holdings to seek buyers. On Friday, JP Morgan said it sells.
"Physical commodities activities are fully or do not understand the report, Ohio Democratic Senator Brown said:" In last week's hearing, they are often buried in the mysterious regulatory filings.
Follow the instructions
Lack of clarity in the trade business has been a vexing problem in the other desk, such as foreign exchange and equities. Whether banks should be allowed to continue trading actively raw materials markets, but the current debate focused in this area only.
In short, this is a lot of money, the world's top ten banks jointly raised approximately $ 60 billion in commodity trading last year, down 24 percent from 2011, according to the alliance.
The bank said that all of the information they provide, they must give regulators and investors.
"Our disclosure is in compliance with all relevant reporting requirements and to provide investors with all the important information, said:" Morgan Stanley spokesman. He said that the data provided by the bank in its three core business lines of the main driving force results, but will not break the profitability of like goods as "Product" level.
Critics say that disclosure still leave much.
Energy economist Robert McCullough, who spent six years of litigation against Morgan Stanley's electricity market manipulation case ", said:" They really did not tell us too much.
"If you want what their position of power in 2001 estimated that six years of litigation is not enough to get it," he said.
Supervision of banks at the Fed, financial system risk, have the power to allow staff visits and required data sets from banks for their commodities activities. The agency also allows on-site staff at the bank is committed to monitoring the merchandise.
However, this is not enough, according to some former examiners.
"Between the regulator and the regulated banks, they have a complex gap, said:" Mark Williams, the former Federal Reserve Bank examiner and energy executive who now teaches finance at Boston University.
"Commodity is more complex transaction," he said.
Y-9C? Because they must
A bank record, collected by the Federal Reserve is called "FR Y-9C." Detailed questionnaire, all postage require banks to tell how much money the Fed, how much money they give them to commodity trading.
However, because the regulation of the accounting rules for investors from banks report their earnings may be different ways, the Fed survey can often be to the bank's Securities and Exchange Commission filings no similarities.
For example, the report of Goldman Sachs, in 2012 only 100 million U.S. dollars of the "commodities and other trading income for the Fed in an independent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, the bank said it raised $ 5.75 million in trading commodities. Industry sources, in fact, Goldman Sachs Commodity peg revenues approaching $ 125 million a year.
When asked about the different figures, Goldman Sachs spokesman said: "We are asking our way to disclose specific figures, which may not match the actual measured way, the performance of some of our trading business." He declined to provide figures for the bank's commodities trading revenues.
JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup offer similar merchandise trade figures, the Fed and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But, like Goldman Sachs, the two sides to remind investors in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing figures do not fully represent their performance, because they do not include interest, "integral" part of the trading income earnings.
JP Morgan Chase reported nearly 240 million yuan in 2012 commodity trading income, on paper more than the sum of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. But some analysts say that real incomes could be close to this year's $ 150 million goal.
JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup spokesman declined to comment.
There are so many uncertainties title number, trying to barter goods separate betting bank paper - segment from the regulatory risk - is almost impossible. Deutsche Bank (Deutsche Bank) analyst estimate in a report last week, JP Morgan Chase account its overall physical book commodity trading business, where one-third to two-thirds.
Take some other banks that its commodities business is too small, it is worth attention.
Deutsche Bank and Barclays Bank, commodity revenues may appear in a transcript or investors occasional earnings reports, but no banks to disclose how much money it makes trading department. Deutsche Bank (Deutsche Bank) in its 2012 annual report, simply pointed out that commodity "revenue decline" compared to 2011. Barclays segment's performance in its annual report mentioned.
Deutsche Bank and Barclays Bank spokesman declined to comment.
Analysts VS. Nun
Lack of detail does not seem worried, some Wall Street banks commodities trading revenues. This is the Mosaic assessment of the company's analyst looking at just one part of the project.
"It's just not a significant problem, I said," David Hilder, covering banking brokerage Drexel Hamilton.
Some experts say that even limited disclosure by banks superior alternative. Many world's largest commodity traders, such as Vitol and Trafigura, is privately held, so there is no publicly available.
"(Trading) activities will not disappear, Gein bank in Davis Polk's lawyer, said at a hearing last week:" Randall. "You'd better turn it off, there are some companies in regulatory disclosure."
That did not stop some influential groups have called for banks to step up reports.
Last year, CFA Institute - giving investment professionals around the world Chartered Financial Analyst qualification - adopt a report, requiring banks to improve their risk disclosure to investors. Bank's trading book, in particular, remains "very opaque" to investors, Vincent said, Dad, Financial Reporting Policy Institute's director.
"In many cases, they give you a number, they believe, from an internal management perspective is meaningless," Dad said. "" They just give it to comply with the reason. This is not conducive to investors, it is about providing relevant information, rather than just ticking boxes. "
For some investors, banks, commodity trading is indeed very relevant. Faith Center Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) represents a value of $ 10 billion worth of institutional investors, such as Finland, DC respectable. The group publicly called for companies to avoid speculation in food commodities.
But disclosure is so lacking, ICCR members like St. Francis of Philadelphia's sister's sister Nora Nash has little idea of ??their big banks such as Goldman Sachs investment is consistent with this philosophy.
, "Nash said:" I definitely would want them to reveal what happened to those of us who are shareholders.
 



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