JPMorgan Chase, MF Global trustee reach $546M settlement

JPMorgan Chase announced a $546 million settlement late Tuesday night
with MF Global, almost 18 months after the firm’s collapse.

{mosads}Of that amount, $100 million would go toward customer claims as part
of the effort to recover funds lost during the Oct. 31, 2011, failure,
effectively resolving the matter between the two financial firms, The
Wall Street Journal reported.

JPMorgan also is relinquishing claims it had on $417 million in MF
Global funds that had been returned to trustee James W. Giddens, who
represented customers.

The return of customers’ funds could have been delayed
for two to three years, Giddens said in a release.

Under the agreement, which requires court approval, there will likely
be another $300 million headed for customers, according to reports.

Overall, the deal would provide U.S. customers with about 95 cents on
the dollar.

Former MF Global head Jon Corzine has largely been blamed for the
firm’s failure, and has faced scrutiny from lawmakers on Capitol Hill
because of the more $1 billion in customer accounts that went missing
during its final chaotic days.

MF Global was one of the largest brokerages specializing in futures.

The securities firm’s demise shook Washington as well as Wall Street
and made Corzine, a former New Jersey governor and Democratic senator, a regular presence
on Capitol Hill.

He and other bank officials either refused to answer questions or said
they did not know what happened with the missing funds.