Introduction

In 1993, Metallgesellschaft, the German Global Industrial conglomerate lost $1.3bln in oil derivatives trading through its US subsidiary MGRM. The details leading up to their implosion and the subsequent actions taken by their CEO, trading counterparties and their lending banks have been hotly debated by academia, business school students and their contemporaries in the markets ever since. In this episode, as we approach the 30th anniversary of one of the largest and most famous financial calamities in the oil trading markets, we review the key moments and, uniquely, draw on viewpoints from industry veterans present at the time: What really happened and why? What did the academics miss and what, if anything, has been quietly hushed? What lessons were learned, if any? Joining us is Kevin O’Reilly, commodities investment banker and commodity markets theorist.