MF Global trustee says about 28,000 customer claims completed

The trustee liquidating the failed MF Global brokerage said in a report that only 200 of more than 28,000 commodities and securities customer claims filed have not been completed in the past six months.

“The resolution of so many claims in such a short period has allowed clarity with respect to both the possibilities of, and impediments to, further distributions,” Trustee James W. Giddens said on Tuesday in an interim report filed in US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

The allowed 26,610 commodities customer claims have a total value of about US$6.7 billion, according to the filing.

Customers with allowed claims in the domestic futures account group, and who didn’t file objections to the trustee’s determination of their claims, have received about 80 per cent of their account value under the first distribution, according to the filing.

Customers with claims in the foreign futures account group have received 5 per cent of their account value so far, the trustee said. Future distributions are contingent on the resolution of disputes with the parent company, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and with MF Global’s London-based European broker.

“The trustee does not wish to understate the difficulties and complexities of some of the issues involved,” Giddens said.
“A pragmatic, constructive approach on the part of all the parties and professionals involved has allowed these discussions to enter an advanced and critical stage,” according to the report. “Successful resolution would, with court approval, permit further distributions.”