Financial institutions act as a go-between, selling oil derivatives to one company and buying from another while pocketing fees and profiting on the spread, said Charles Peabody, an analyst at Portales Partners LLC in New York. The question is whether the banks were able to adequately offset their risk when the market took a nosedive, he said.

“The banks always tell us that they try to lay off the risk,” Peabody said. “I know from history and practice that it’s great in concept, but it’s hard to do in reality.”

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