Commodity finance, a niche part of the banking sector that has been mired by client collapses and scandals in recent months, saw slumping revenues in the second quarter of 2020 as some banks pulled the plug on their operations.

In the second quarter of 2020, revenues in the commodity trade finance sector — where banks provide typically short-term loans to help the movement of commodities — tumbled by 40% to $700m, according to figures from data provider Coalition. So far, in 2020 revenues have dropped by 29% to $1.7bn.