MF Global CEO Jon Corzine resigns under fire
I wonder if the OWS protesters will be satisfied if Corzine ends up sharing a cell with Bernie Madoff?
(Reuters) - Jon Corzine has resigned as MF Global Holdings Ltd’s chairman and chief executive officer four days after the futures brokerage filed for bankruptcy protection, culminating a rapid downfall for one of Wall Street’s best-known executives.
Corzine said his decision was voluntary and was best for the company and its stakeholders.
“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,” Corzine said. “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.”
Friday’s resignation is the latest development in a stunning downfall for Corzine, 64, who ran Goldman Sachs & Co in the late 1990s and was subsequently a U.S. senator from New Jersey and governor of that state. MF Global, which Corzine joined in March 2010, had been his ticket back to Wall Street.
Corzine is not seeking severance, the company said. He had been entitled to a $9 million payout if he were let go without cause, a July regulatory filing shows.
The bankruptcy filing came after MF Global’s bets on European sovereign debt scared away clients, counterparties and investors. It was accelerated after major credit rating agencies downgraded the company to “junk” status last week.
U.S. regulators, meanwhile, are conducting a broad review of the company’s business as they try to track down more than $600 million of missing customer money.