David Goldman for The New York TimesThe resignation capped a disastrous week for Jon S. Corzine, who saw MF Global lose two-thirds of its market value, file for bankruptcy and face several federal investigations.
Jon S. Corzine has resigned from his posts at the embattled brokerage firm MF Global, the company announced on Friday.
Mr. Corzine, the firm’s chairman and chief executive, will not seek his $12 million severance from MF Global, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday, according to the company’s statement.
The resignation capped a disastrous week for Mr. Corzine, as he saw MF Global lose two-thirds of its market value, file for bankruptcy and face a handful of federal investigations into more than $600 million in missing customer money. The decision also signaled a rapid downfall of what was supposed to be Mr. Corzine’s grand return to Wall Street — a comeback that began in early 2010, after a roughly 10-year sabbatical that he spent in politics.
“I feel great sadness for what has transpired at MF Global and the impact it has had on the firm’s clients, employees and many others,” Mr. Corzine, 64, said in a statement. “I intend to continue to assist the company and its board in their efforts to respond to regulatory inquiries and issues related to the disposition of the firm’s assets.”
Mr. Corzine’s resignation signals the end of a troubled chapter in his career. The former head of Goldman Sachs, Mr. Corzine joined MF Global in March 2010 following a failed re-election bid for New Jersey governor.
Soon after joining the firm, he moved to transform the sleepy brokerage firm into full-service investment bank in the mold of his former employer, Goldman. He aggressively bought up European sovereign debt, wagering that the Continent would not let troubled countries default on their loans.
As the sovereign debt crisis dragged on this fall, regulators noticed the risky bets and pushed the firm to hold more capital against the investments. The move alarmed shareholders, clients and rating agencies, inciting a crisis of confidence. With the stock in free-fall, the firm searched desperately for a suitor to buy at least a part of its business.
MF Global had a handshake deal late Sunday, but the overnight revelation of hundreds of millions of dollars of missing customer money scuttled any potential deal. Early Monday, the firm filed for bankruptcy.
After MF Global filed for Chapter 11 regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, started searching for missing money. On Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began its own inquiry. Roughly $630 million in assets remains unaccounted for, and regulators are examining whether the firm used the money to plug holes in a scramble to save itself.
Mr. Corzine, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, is said to have hired Andrew F. Levander, a prominent criminal defense lawyer. Mr. Levander, the chairman of Dechert, has represented other Wall Street executives including John Thain, the former chief executive of Merrill Lynch. Mr. Corzine has also retained two bankruptcy lawyers from the firm Perkins Coie, Alan D. Smith and Schuyler G. Carroll, to represent him in the civil Chapter 11 proceedings.
Edward L. Goldberg, the head director, and Bradley I. Abelow, the president and chief operating officer, will remain in their positions at MF Global.
Peter Lattman contributed reporting
This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: November 4, 2011
An earlier version of this post misspelled the surname of a lawyer with Perkins Coie. He is Schuyler G. Carroll, not Caroll.
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=65c6e95788cbe0c81e833dd6a552ec60
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