A U.S. Senate committee will hold a hearing next week on whether banks should control physical storage of commodities, a signal that lawmakers may toughen their stance on this controversial but lucrative business for Wall Street firms, Reuters reported yesterday. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley all have business units involved in the storage of physical commodities such as metals and oil, as well as in commodities trading. The Senate hearing will take place as a five-year grace period from the U.S. Federal Reserve that allows banks to hold physical commodities assets is set to expire before the end of the year.
