The commodities derivatives market has been dominated by two banks – Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley – for years, but rivals are breathing down their necks as competition increases. The business has been volatile over the past five or six years, with prices fluctuating, and new entrants into the market disappearing as quickly as they appeared.

So the upheaval in the banking sector of the past 12 months came as a boon for companies that had been looking to expand their commodities presence. With counterparty risk pushed to the front of people's minds, end users have started to expand the range of their dealers, which in turn has given an opening to the second tier of commodities banks.