Commodity King Nick O’Kane quits Macquarie after nearly three many years

A famous person commodities dealer at Macquarie is ready to stop the agency this month after raking in additional pay than JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon and his personal chief government.

In a shock announcement, the Australian funding financial institution mentioned that Nick O’Kane would step down as head of its commodities and world markets (CGM) division on February 27.

O’Kane, who has labored for Macquarie for nearly three many years, will ‘pursue opportunities outside the business’. He might be changed by Simon Wright, who heads up the CGM monetary markets arm.

News of his departure got here as the corporate – which has been known as the ‘Vampire Kangaroo’ – warned its income could be decrease than beforehand anticipated as dealmaking slumped to its lowest degree in a decade.

O’Kane is broadly credited for turning Macquarie’s obscure commodities and world markets division right into a powerhouse after he positioned a seemingly modest guess on US vitality buying and selling after taking cost of the operation in 2019.

Trading it in: Nick O’Kane (pictured) will step down as head of Macquarie’s commodities and world markets division on February 27

The timing of the transfer meant Macquarie noticed its income increase after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and excessive climate situations in some components of the world sparked huge swings in world vitality costs.

Prior to taking cost of the division, O’Kane additionally helped orchestrate Macquarie’s buy of small Californian vitality group Cook Inlet in 2005, which since then has grown into a world participant that reported a £3.1billion revenue final yr. 

Its success meant O’Kane turned one of many best-paid executives in Australia, taking dwelling £30millio final yr – greater than the pay packets of Dimon and Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon. 

His bumper wage even outstripped Macquarie’s chief government Shemara Wikramanayake, who that very same yr was paid £17million.

The announcement of O’Kane’s exit got here as Macquarie reported that its year-to-date income for the yr to March 2024 had been ‘substantially down’ on the identical interval a yr in the past and that its annual efficiency could be down sharply on 2023 as deal alternatives dried up amid financial uncertainty.

Despite this, Wikramanayake mentioned the corporate remained ‘well-positioned to deliver superior performance in the medium term’. 

Macquarie’s shares dropped 1 per cent on Australian markets following the outcomes.

High-flyer:  Macquarie chief exec Shemara Wikramanayake

The bleak earnings will pile additional strain on Macquarie, which has already confronted extreme criticism for its stewardship of main UK water corporations. 

The financial institution’s possession of a number of UK water corporations, together with Thames Water, which it purchased in 2006 and offered in 2017, has been lambasted.

Macquarie loaded the utility teams with debt and extracted billions in dividends but it surely failed to speculate to improve the water community, which resulted in frequent leaks and sewage spills.

Concerns had been additionally raised final yr when Macquarie secured an 80 per cent stake in National Gas, Britain’s gasoline infrastructure community which takes care of 1000’s of miles of pipes that offer houses.

The Australian agency has its palms on swathes of key UK infrastructure, together with a majority stake in Southern Water.