The problem is that this may be the tip of the iceberg.Disclosure so far has been inconsistent — some firms provide net exposures and others gross. Others, like Deutsche Bank, haven’t given any precise numbers at all.The direct exposures only capture part of the picture though. Firms like HSBC and Standard Chartered, face a double helping of pain as the falling price of commodities rips through the economies of energy-exporting countries where they have ramped up lending in recent years.
There’s also the risk that attention shifts away from oil and gas producers to other industries tied to commodities. Signs of stress are already appearing among traders and miners: Noble Group on Thursday posted its first annual loss in almost two decades, while Anglo American’s credit rating was cut to junk earlier this month.
While commodities trading exposure is usually included in banks’ overall portfolio, the companies often class it as immune to oil-price fluctuations. That suggests losses in this space would come as a nasty surprise. As for metals and mining, that exposure is worthy of its own iceberg: HSBC alone booked about $100 million in provisions on its $18 billion metals and mining loan book in 2015.