Creditors of MF Global UK arm ‘may get £2bn’

As much as $3.2 billion (£2 billion) could be returned to creditors of the British arm of failed broker MF Global, according to administrators at KPMG. Claims could reach $3.9 billion, and the administrator estimated a minimum of $2.8 billion is available to settle claims against MF’s estate. The US parent company filed for bankruptcy in October after being flooded with margin calls following a series of disastrous bets placed on eurozone government debt. The trustee handling the US bankruptcy is seeking funds from London, which may cut anything UK creditors receive.The failure to find a buyer for the business was humiliating for Jon Crozine, the former Goldman Sachs boss who saw MF as his Wall Street comeback. The firm quickly unravelled as its bonds were downgraded to junk and it admitted spiralling losses in its trading division. “In determining the claims, we are working to discount those we believe to be duplicative or spurious,” said KPMG partner Richard Heis. “There are still numerous work streams to be worked through but this estimated guide shows that there are circumstances where a full pay out is possible.” The company had assets of $41 billion and debt of almost $40 billion.