MF Global Says Unauthorized Bets Lost $141.5 Million (Update3)
By David Scheer
Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- MF Global Inc., the world's largest broker of exchange-traded futures and options contracts, said it set aside $141.5 million to cover an employee's losses after he ``substantially exceeded'' trading limits in his own account.
MF Global fell as much as 23 percent in New York trading, the biggest drop since the company went public, after the firm said an order-entry system failure permitted ``unauthorized'' trades in wheat futures markets yesterday morning. As a clearing member, the firm is responsible for settling the trades, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said in a statement.
``The registered representative concerned has been terminated effective immediately,'' MF Global said in the statement. ``Client funds are not at all impacted by this event.'' The company said the unidentified trader worked in a U.S. branch office.
MF Global, led by Chief Executive Officer Kevin Davis, is at least the second firm this year to attribute trading losses to the illicit activities of a single employee. Societe Generale SA, France's second-biggest bank, said Jan. 24 that trader Jerome Kerviel lost 4.9 billion-euros ($7.4 billion) by taking positions on European stock market indexes and then falsifying documents and e-mails to pretend the bets were hedged.
``All it takes is somebody with enough understanding of how these trading, settlement and risk-management systems fit together and where the gaps are to create a problem,'' said Adam Honore, an analyst at Boston-based financial services consulting firm Aite Group LLC. ``SocGen was another example, and this is not going to be the last.''
CME Statement
While Kerviel has admitted to exceeding authorized limits and falsifying hedges, he says the company was aware of his actions.
MF Global fell $5.63, or 19.2 percent, to $23.65 at 10:32 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares are down about 26 percent this year.
CME Group Inc., owner of the world's largest futures exchange, issued a statement today ``concerning firm proprietary trading activity in the wheat futures market.'' CME said MF Global ``has met and continues to meet its obligations'' and ``remains in good standing as a clearing member of the exchange.''
Volatility in U.S. wheat futures has surged as prices more that doubled in the past year on the Chicago Board of Trade, capped by unprecedented price changes yesterday.
Wheat rose the most ever to the seventh record high this month, then fell by the exchange-imposed daily limit before rising again by the maximum allowed. The 25 percent rally from the day's low to its high was bigger than all but seven annual price increases for wheat since 1973.
Price Swings
Wheat has more than doubled in the past year as the world's farmers failed to keep pace with rising demand, eroding inventories. The rally fueled food inflation with higher costs for Italian pasta, Japanese noodles, French baguettes and Kellogg Co. cereals.
Wheat futures for May delivery yesterday rose by the trading limit of $1.35, or 11 percent, to a record $13.495 a bushel, then plunged by the trading limit to $10.795, before rebounding again to the record, a $2.70 swing.
The daily price-change limit, the biggest ever for the exchange, was raised after wheat rose the previous maximum of 90 cents yesterday, which was set after wheat jumped the earlier limit of 60 cents on Feb. 25. Before Feb. 11, the limit had been 30 cents.
MF Global, formerly the brokerage unit of Man Group Plc, the world's largest publicly traded hedge fund manager, was spun off in a $2.92 billion initial public offering in July. Man Group retained an 18.6 percent stake in the company.
-- With reporting by Edgar Ortega in New York, Heather Smith in Paris and Nandini Sukumar and Tom Cahill in London. Editors: Otis Bilodeau, Jeff Plungis.
Quelle: bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20…d=aBYeRI9MREfE&refer=home
By David Scheer
Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- MF Global Inc., the world's largest broker of exchange-traded futures and options contracts, said it set aside $141.5 million to cover an employee's losses after he ``substantially exceeded'' trading limits in his own account.
MF Global fell as much as 23 percent in New York trading, the biggest drop since the company went public, after the firm said an order-entry system failure permitted ``unauthorized'' trades in wheat futures markets yesterday morning. As a clearing member, the firm is responsible for settling the trades, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said in a statement.
``The registered representative concerned has been terminated effective immediately,'' MF Global said in the statement. ``Client funds are not at all impacted by this event.'' The company said the unidentified trader worked in a U.S. branch office.
MF Global, led by Chief Executive Officer Kevin Davis, is at least the second firm this year to attribute trading losses to the illicit activities of a single employee. Societe Generale SA, France's second-biggest bank, said Jan. 24 that trader Jerome Kerviel lost 4.9 billion-euros ($7.4 billion) by taking positions on European stock market indexes and then falsifying documents and e-mails to pretend the bets were hedged.
``All it takes is somebody with enough understanding of how these trading, settlement and risk-management systems fit together and where the gaps are to create a problem,'' said Adam Honore, an analyst at Boston-based financial services consulting firm Aite Group LLC. ``SocGen was another example, and this is not going to be the last.''
CME Statement
While Kerviel has admitted to exceeding authorized limits and falsifying hedges, he says the company was aware of his actions.
MF Global fell $5.63, or 19.2 percent, to $23.65 at 10:32 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares are down about 26 percent this year.
CME Group Inc., owner of the world's largest futures exchange, issued a statement today ``concerning firm proprietary trading activity in the wheat futures market.'' CME said MF Global ``has met and continues to meet its obligations'' and ``remains in good standing as a clearing member of the exchange.''
Volatility in U.S. wheat futures has surged as prices more that doubled in the past year on the Chicago Board of Trade, capped by unprecedented price changes yesterday.
Wheat rose the most ever to the seventh record high this month, then fell by the exchange-imposed daily limit before rising again by the maximum allowed. The 25 percent rally from the day's low to its high was bigger than all but seven annual price increases for wheat since 1973.
Price Swings
Wheat has more than doubled in the past year as the world's farmers failed to keep pace with rising demand, eroding inventories. The rally fueled food inflation with higher costs for Italian pasta, Japanese noodles, French baguettes and Kellogg Co. cereals.
Wheat futures for May delivery yesterday rose by the trading limit of $1.35, or 11 percent, to a record $13.495 a bushel, then plunged by the trading limit to $10.795, before rebounding again to the record, a $2.70 swing.
The daily price-change limit, the biggest ever for the exchange, was raised after wheat rose the previous maximum of 90 cents yesterday, which was set after wheat jumped the earlier limit of 60 cents on Feb. 25. Before Feb. 11, the limit had been 30 cents.
MF Global, formerly the brokerage unit of Man Group Plc, the world's largest publicly traded hedge fund manager, was spun off in a $2.92 billion initial public offering in July. Man Group retained an 18.6 percent stake in the company.
-- With reporting by Edgar Ortega in New York, Heather Smith in Paris and Nandini Sukumar and Tom Cahill in London. Editors: Otis Bilodeau, Jeff Plungis.
Quelle: bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20…d=aBYeRI9MREfE&refer=home