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Barclays Capital
Commodities has long been a two-horse race between Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The two banks stand apart from their competitors for their depth and breadth of coverage and for their long histories in the sector. As the winnings have increased, however, so too has the competition and it is clear that a third horse is coming up on the rails: Barclays Capital. In the energy derivatives business, one of the most important to commodities overall, Barcap now claims the number-two spot in both Europe and Asia, where it trails Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley respectively.
The UK bank is an important player in the energy and metals markets and has also been a pioneer in emissions trading, a market that is forging interconnections between oil, gas, and power markets, and is set to become increasingly important in its own right.
In October 2006, Barcap launched the standard certified emission forward agreement (Scerfa), a contract that could play a crucial role in the development of a liquid secondary market in certified emissions reduction (CER) certificates.