Subcommittee to Hear From Corzine During Hearing on MF Global Collapse
Washington,
December 14, 2011 -
The Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will examine the decisions and events leading up to the collapse of MF Global during a hearing on Thursday. At the hearing, the Subcommittee will hear from Jon Corzine, the former chief executive officer of MF Global, as well as regulators of the firm and the bankruptcy trustee.
The Subcommittee hearing will also focus on the effectiveness of regulators in overseeing the firm’s activities, the impact that MF Global’s bankruptcy will have on its customers, and the decision by the New York Federal Reserve to grant MF Global primary dealer status.
Since November, the Subcommittee has been at the forefront of investigating the downfall of MF Global. The Subcommittee has obtained hundreds of documents and other materials concerning MF Global and interviewed more than a dozen individuals. On December 7, the Subcommittee unanimously voted to issue a subpoena to compel Corzine’s appearance.
Subcommittee Chairman Randy Neugebauer said, “Building upon the earlier hearings held by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, the Subcommittee will continue to pursue any and all facts pertaining to investment decisions that led to MF Global’s collapse and the activities at MF Global in the days and weeks leading to its collapse. Clearly, there is much work to be done in order for the MF Global investors to discover what occurred prior to the firm’s collapse. In order for our financial institutions to have credibility in the global market place, and for our regulatory institutions to have credibility with the taxpayer, the Subcommittee will continue to examine not only Mr. Corzine’s actions, but also the effectiveness of several regulatory entities that at first glance seem to have been asleep at the switch.”
MF Global filed for bankruptcy on October 31, 2011. MF Global’s demise has had a negative impact on its customers. The bankruptcy trustee reported in November that customer funds were not segregated as required by law. The bankruptcy trustee also found approximately $1.2 billion in customer funds are missing. This is the first time in the futures industry’s history that a customer has suffered a loss as a result of a clearing members’ improper handling of customer funds.
Click here to view the Committee’s memo for the hearing.
Witnesses Scheduled To Testify:
Panel I:
Jon Corzine, former Chief Executive Officer, MF Global
Bradley Abelow, Chief Operating Officer, MF Global
Panel II
Daniel M. Berkowitz, General Counsel, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Robert Cook, Director, Division of Trading and Markets, U.S. Securities Exchange Commission
Terry Duffy, Executive Chairman, CME Group
Richard Ketchum, President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
James Kobrak, Jr., Chief Counsel to Mr. James Giddens, Bankruptcy Trustee for MF Global Inc.
Thomas C. Baxter, Jr., General Counsel, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
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