LONDON (Reuters) - Commodities-related revenue at the world's 12 biggest investment banks was 1% lower in the first half of the year than in the same period in 2018 due to weaker activity in power and gas, consultancy Coalition said on Thursday.
Commodities revenue at the 12 banks rebounded last year from its lowest in more than a decade in 2017. That rise came from power, gas and base metals.
That revenue stream has been on a steady downward trajectory since the global financial crisis as heightened government regulation and poor performance made the top banks shrink their commodities businesses, falling to $3.6 billion (2.93 billion pounds) last year from $15.9 billion in 2008, according to Coalition.
In the first six months of 2019, revenue from commodity trading, selling derivatives to investors and other activities in the sector was $2 billion, the financial industry analytics firm said.
"Oil revenues increased significantly, however power and gas declined due to fewer large structured deals," Coalition said.
The 12 banks Coalition tracks for its quarterly reports are Bank of America Merrill Lynch <BAC.N>, Barclays <BARC.L>, BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Citigroup <C.N>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.S>, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE>, Goldman Sachs <GS.N>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, JPMorgan <JPM.N>, Morgan Stanley <MS.N>, Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> and UBS <UBSG.S>.
(Reporting by Eric Onstad; editing by John Stonestreet)
