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Swiss Derivatives Review: Many commodity prices

have tumbled. One would expect this move to be

good for traders. Has it been the case?

In the Commodities special edition from the Swiss

Newspaper l’AGEFI there is a graph comparing the

very low margins of trading companies respective

to non-trading companies. Is this linked to the low

volatility on markets?

So commodity merchants trade on time?

Do you believe that trading companies have be-

come too big to fail?

Interview with Norman Hay Veteran trader and former CEO of Cargill Norman Hay, former CEO of Cargill International, retired last year from commodity trading. He worked for

38 years for Cargill, the biggest private company in the United States. In Switzerland, where Cargill em-

ploys about 1,000 staff, he has lived for twenty years: once from 1985 to 1995 and now since 2005.

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How did this work out in times of crises?

But are regulators and government not trying to

structure what markets should do, that is not to do

away with risk but to make sure the people who

take the risk can bear it?

With regard to too big to fail, does your assessment

not change in view of the tendency of commodity

merchants to invest in and own infrastructure?

Talking about the role of governments in markets,

what did you think about the SNB decision with re-

gard to the Swiss Franc?

Norman Hay

Retired President and

CEO of Cargill Internation-

al SA in Geneva Switzer-

land, Norman Hay has

spent a 38 year career in

the trading and shipping

of global commodities.

Furthermore, Norman has

served for 6 years as

board member of the

Swiss/American Chamber of Commerce and was a

founder member and Vice President of the Geneva

Trading and Shipping Association.

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At the Burgenstock conference

three years ago, a participant explained that the

SNB’s decision had wrecked his risk management.

The responsibility of international companies

abroad is a hot topic. How will commodity mer-

chants view this debate?

Since October, the STSA regroups the traders asso-

ciations from Geneva, Zug and Lugano. Were you

part of this effort and what do you think about it?

In Switzerland, many are worried about how the

business environment is evolving because of open

issues on important subjects such as immigration

or tax reform. Are you also one of them?

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So you do not share the concerns on the current

reforms being dangerous for the business environ-

ment?

You mentioned the advantages of neutrality. Is

there a value for a trading company to be located in

Switzerland with regard to sanctions?

Can you talk about EtherSec, your company based

in London?

Swiss Derivatives Review — Issue 60