Macquarie Oil Traders Leave as Bank Restructures Commodity Units
(Bloomberg) — Several oil traders at Macquarie Group Ltd. have left the firm, with the departures coming as the bank merges two of its main commodity-trading units.
The traders, who handle crude and refined products in Singapore, Geneva and elsewhere, departed in recent weeks, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. They included Daniel Mortleman and Simon Fender in the Southeast Asian city-state, as well as Natalia de la Huerga and Marc Aguilar in the Swiss city, the people said.
Macquarie has been merging the trading divisions of Macquarie Bank Ltd. with the Macquarie Commodities Trading SA unit — both of which have staff who handle similar commodities, albeit with different portfolios — the people said, asking not to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.
Macquarie declined to comment. An email to Fender’s work address prompted an automated reply saying he had left the company. None of the other individuals responded to messages seeking comment.
It’s not immediately clear if the people left as a direct result of the restructuring, or departed of their own accord. Mortleman had been at the bank for 28 years, while Fender was there for a decade, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
In at least one Asian market, the restructuring would entail some traders working for Macquarie Commodities Trading being let go, with the remaining staff getting folded into Macquarie Bank’s teams, the people said.
Macquarie has made several acquisitions in commodities in recent quarters. The group bought Energy Assets Group earlier this year, and Erova Energy Group in 2025. It had also weighed acquiring metals trader Transamine SA and Cargill Inc.’s ferrous unit, Bloomberg has reported.
The US-Iran war has spurred a banner year for many energy traders globally, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the upending of shipping markets boosted volatility, creating lucrative opportunities for trading houses, oil majors and banks. Still, some traders who were wrong-footed as commodity prices swung have seen losses.
–With assistance from Alfred Cang, Priscila Azevedo Rocha, Stephen Stapczynski and Sarah Chen.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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