Crisil Coalition Greenwich data and people familiar say global banks’
precious-metals trading revenue is expected to reach about $5 billion in 2026, a
record, driven by volatile gold and silver prices and active investor flows.
JPMorgan earned roughly $700m in H1 from gold, silver and related businesses,
close to its 2020 full-year peak of just over $1bn; Deutsche Bank has booked
more than $200m YTD. Banks are profiting via short-dated options, leveraged ETF
trades and cross-market gold-price arbitrage. Citigroup this year became the
first new bank in a decade to join London bullion market vaulting and clearing
services; Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are also seeking entry. Gold and
silver have pulled back from earlier highs but remain more than double their
levels at the start of 2024.
