This enables Deutsche to execute significant transactions involving financing and commodities-related hedging, and to be a market leader in the commodity derivatives investment business.
The bank’s key innovations in the past 12 months include the provision of commodity indices and related investment products and the commodity exchange-traded fund (ETF) space. “The DBLCI-MR has been the best performing index for the past two years, constantly generating returns far greater than its peers,” says David Silbert, global head of commodities trading. “We launched seven new commodity ETFs in the US earlier this year. These provide exposure to energy, precious metals, industrial metals and agriculture and crude oil, gold and silver. We also launched our European offering as part of the db x-trackers suite.”
Landmark transactions include Project Panda in 2006, when Deutsche Bank structured and credit-wrapped the largest ever private sector syndication of a CDM project in collaboration with CCC, as well as being sole credit guarantor to the syndicate of purchasers.
Deutsche also executed one of the largest and longest-dated block hedging power transactions in the UK market. “This involved collaborating with Deutsche Bank’s credit derivatives team to manage the counterparty exposure, which had previously restricted the client’s ability to hedge in the market,” says Mr Silbert.
The bank has also been working hard to fill the gaps, says Mr Silbert. “We have been investing heavily over the past year, both in terms of people and infrastructure. We now have a strengthened US platform, a new office in Houston and have expanded our European power trading platform geographically. We intend to grow our metals and oil businesses and launch an agricultures business next year.”
