Two years ago,
Denver-based oil and gas driller Bonanza Creek Energy wanted to spread its
credit risk and hedge its production - and it called on some regional Main
Street banks to
help do it.
It
ended up with a group of banks, including several names little-known in commodity
circles until recently. Ohio-based KeyCorp led
the lenders and was also among the banks providing hedging.
Traditionally,
Wall Street's big banks were the go-to providers of such services, but since
the financial crisis and the introduction of tougher regulations, they have
been pulling back.
At the same time, regional
banks, more used to serving consumers and small and medium-sized businesses in
the communities they serve, have been growing their energy and commodity lending and hedging businesses.
Soaring U.S. oil and gas production resulting from the use of fracking
technology in states such as North Dakota has encouraged the regional banks.
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for the full article from Reuters.