Public grilling for ex-chief of MF Global
THE former head of MF Global will be hauled before Congress to explain the collapse of the US broker.
Jon Corzine, who has not spoken publicly since resigning on 4 November, has been asked to appear before the house oversight and investigations sub-committee on 15 December.
It will mark a sharp role reversal for Corzine (pictured) a former New Jersey governor who once ran Goldman Sachs. He is expected to be grilled over a disastrous $6.3bn (£3.9bn) bet on Eurozone debt, which prompted a haemorrhaging of confidence from investors and ratings agencies and missing client money.
Chief operating officer Bradley Abelow has also been asked to testify, as well as Robert Cook, director of the US Securities and Exchange Commissions division of trading and markets, Gary Gensler, who runs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Gensler and Mary Schapiro, chairman of the SEC, are also due to appear on December 1 before the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC.
The requests, which can be followed by subpoenas, came as regulator CME denied reports the shortfall in customer accounts runs to more than $1bn.
Separately JP Morgan has agreed to pay around £25m for MF Global’s 4.7 per cent stake in the London Metal Exchange, making it the largest shareholder on 10.9 per cent. It will also pay £2m for the broker’s B shares, sources said.