Macquarie, Australia's Macquarie Bank, has'very little exposure' in Trump's war on green energy
Macquarie Group, the top Australian investment bank, downplayed on Tuesday its exposure to U.S. green power sector that has been disrupted by executive orders issued by President Donald Trump. It posted a flat profit for the third quarter.
The bank that makes a third its profit in Americas said it has reviewed its U.S. investments and found minimal exposure since Trump signed executive orders banning or freezing government benefits for sustainable energies.
Macquarie's CEO Shemara Wikamanayake said on a conference call with analysts that the U.S. had very few investments. She was referring to two of the company's main green energy funds.
Tax credits are still available for some of the few green energy assets in the United States. Some of them are receiving disbursements. There is a review going on of the disbursements. But ours were all legally committed.
Macquarie does not invest in U.S. off-shore wind farms. This sector has been hit by Trump's freeze on new permits. Wikramanayake said that Macquarie may benefit from a faster release of permits to "conventional energy".
Macquarie's review reveals a global trend of companies taking stock of their U.S. operations in order to stay abreast of a rapidly changing regulatory environment. This includes tariffs on aluminium and steel, which Trump ordered last week.
The bank's December quarter profit was flat when compared with the same period last year. Higher fee incomes from its asset and capital markets divisions, plus volume growth at its Australian retail banking arm were offset by lower incomes at its energy trading branch.
Macquarie is one of North America’s largest gas marketers. It buys gas and transports it through pipelines and grids.
After extreme weather events in America and Russia's invasion of Ukraine 2022 rocked the energy markets, the company's primary source of earnings became its energy trading business. The company said that as volatility decreased, profits from energy trading have dropped.
Macquarie's limited quarterly update did not include dollar figures or financial forecasts. The shares of Macquarie were up 2.4% by midsession compared to a 0.25 percent gain in the Australian stock market.
(source: Reuters)
