Although Enron was assuming the traditional role of the banker, it had major advantages over banks. In extending a loan, a bank would try to err on the conservative side, because it had no idea where the price of gas was going. If the price plummeted, the producer might go bankrupt. (In fact, this had happened quite often after the energy bubble of the 1980s burst, which is why so many banks were in trouble.) But Enron absolutely knew the price it could get for the gas: it had already sold it. And because of that knowledge, it was able to lend far more money than a bank typically would.
