Banks and major counterparties, including Rio Tinto, Vale, Vitol, Cargill and Glencore, pulled back from Radiant World over trade-finance document concerns as Glencore reported strong first-half earnings and fresh shareholder returns.
Glencore said it has taken a provision tied to Singapore-based iron ore trader Radiant World and stopped new business with the firm, while reporting first-half 2026 EBITDA of $10.1 billion, up 86% year on year, and announcing $1.5 billion in additional shareholder returns. The Radiant issue widened in late July and early August as Deutsche Bank and KBC froze parts of the trader's accounts on or around August 6, 2026 over concerns about the validity of invoices and other trade-finance documents, and miners Rio Tinto and Vale, along with Vitol, Cargill and Glencore, halted new dealings. Glencore Chief Executive Officer Gary Nagle said the company's exposure is limited and "not material" to its overall financial health, though it still has a few existing contracts with outstanding matters. Intesa Sanpaolo also booked a provision on about $230 million, roughly €200 million, of exposure and said it expected no impact on 2026 net profit.