As a response to Oxfam’s criticism of investment funds and other financial institutions in connection with food price manipulation, BNP Paribas decided to close some of its funds for new investors.
In particular, BNP Paribas closed Parvest World Agriculture (159 million in assets) along with EasyETF Ultra Light Energy.
Last week, Oxfam blamed French banks for speculating on poverty and famine. BNP Paribas reports that their decision was made after the bank had several explanatory talks with Oxfam.
Oxfam assumes that banks should play a major role in fighting excessive volatility in food markets. The organization insists that banks should help food manufacturers and take risk management under control.
The chart below, courtesy of , reflects the current state of affairs in the market of HLF:
