MF Global’s UK creditors enjoy extra payouts
UNSECURED British creditors of the collapsed derivatives broker MF Global will receive their first payments later this year, it was announced yesterday.
The company, led by former US senator Jon Corzine, went bust in October 2011 after encountering serious liquidity problems following a series of regulatory fines and disastrous investments in European bonds.
“Returning funds will feel like a long journey for many claimants and it is certainly the case that the first use of the special administration regime for investment banks has had some challenge,” said KPMG partner Richard Heis, who is working as joint special administrator of the company’s UK arm.
Heis confirmed that KPMG has now overcome a number of legal hurdles and is in a position to return 43p in the £1 to customers whose funds were not segregated.
It also confirmed that secured creditors whose funds were segregated will receive a second payment of 44 cents in the $1, taking the total returned so far to 70 cents.
Earlier this year it was confirmed that the total available funds could be as high as $3.18bn (£2.07bn), which would be enough to cover all unsecured claims in full. Some unsecured UK customers have already received compensation of up to £50,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.