Wednesday, November 2, 2011

MF = Money is Fungible

Said the Feds, in a stern admonition,
At a broker's insolvent petition:
"We place our reliance
That money of clients
Is far from your trading position."

Commodity broker MF Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, after weekend in talks with potential acquirers fell through. Due diligence inquiries revealed a $900 million discrepancy in the amount of customer funds on hand, inviting due diligence of a different sort from the FBI. The case of MF Global, in which leveraged bets on European sovereign bonds did not turn out as hoped, highlights once again the necessity of the industry's avowedly strict segregation of customer funds. Clients may be wiped out, but only because of their own bad bets. Against those of the firm, they are federally insured.
Posted by Dr. Goose
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