Greater scrutiny, more woes for energy derivatives traders

US regulators are taking a cautious approach to banks’ desire to enter the energy derivatives market in the wake of the ongoing chaos in the energy trading market, judging by a recent letter from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to Bank of America (BoA) laying out the requirements for the latter’s foray into trading electricity derivatives. But the lukewarm results of other banks’ sorties into energy trading may be a more cautionary influence than regulators’ concerns.