ING has named Remko van de Water as head of trade and commodity finance (TCF) for the Americas, following the March appointment of Cauê Todeschini as global TCF head.
Effective July 1, the appointment expands his role as ING’s metals and mining sector head in the Americas, which he has held since 2008.
Van de Water joined the bank more than 25 years ago, and has held roles in Amsterdam, Sydney and Paris, before relocating to join its energy team in New York in 2005.
Matt Rosetti, head of sectors for the Americas, said van de Water’s appointment is “a natural evolution” of the business after Todeschini stepped into the global TCF head role earlier this year.
It also reflects ING’s “commitment to building a leading commodities franchise” across the region, he said.
The bank covers large and mid-sized commodity traders across energy, metals and agricultural goods, with its Americas TCF team based across New York and Houston.
The move comes during a period of evolution for the global commodities sector, with geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions giving large traders greater strategic importance and driving remarkable growth.
“The nature of the commodities market is that it’s inherently volatile,” Van de Water told GTR.
“I would say that in the last few years it’s been a bit more turbulent, driven more by geopolitical tensions than supply-demand balance shifts, with the geopolitical events currently happening in the Middle East driving further disruption and volatility.”
However, Van de Water said that with the Strait of Hormuz crisis – compared to the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine conflict four years earlier – traders and banks “were much more prepared” to stabilise flows and head off concerns over liquidity.
“We worked with traders to provide backup and increased facilities to absorb the potential price and margin volatility,” he said. “We would expect that the traders and the financiers have actually had a very strong first half this year.”
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