January 31, 2012 Deadline Set for Customers Claim Filings
WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 2, 2011 – Stephen Harbeck, president of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which maintains a special reserve fund authorized by Congress to help investors at failed brokerage firms, and James W. Giddens, the court-appointed trustee for the liquidation of MF Global Inc., issued the following joint statement today:
“On November 22, 2011, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn approved the Trustee’s request for approval of a claims process for former customers of MF Global Inc. The Trustee is now establishing separate, parallel customer claims processes: one for MF Global Inc.’s commodity future customers, and the other for its securities customers, as well as an additional claims process for MF Global Inc.’s general creditors.
The Trustee will be mailing approximately 75,000 paper forms to former customers and creditors of MF Global Inc. on or before Friday, December 2, 2011. In addition, to assist in the prompt processing of claims, claim forms and related claims information are available for downloading on the trustee’s Web site (http://www.mfglobaltrustee.com) and on the SIPC Web site (http://www.sipc.org).
In addition, the trustee published a detailed notice to customers and creditors of the placement of MF Global Inc. in liquidation under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Financial Times, and the Chicago Tribune. The published notice provides information regarding the claims process, including instructions on how, where and by when to file a claim.
Completed forms may be mailed to the Trustee at the address included in the instruction packet. To submit your claim electronically, please email your completed claim form and supporting documents to MFGlobalClaims@epiqsystems.com.
Securities customers with MF Global are eligible for the protection afforded under SIPA. In line with SIPC and the Trustee’s goal to return securities and cash due to customers as promptly as practicable, funds of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation may be utilized to pay valid securities customer claims relating to securities and cash up to a maximum amount of $500,000.00 for each customer, including up to $250,000.00 for claims for cash, as provided in the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970.
Claims will be reviewed promptly, and the Trustee’s staff will communicate directly with claimants regarding questions related to their claims. Court approval of the claims process supports the Trustee’s goal of returning as much customer property as possible, as quickly as possible, in a manner that is fair to all customers, and consistent with the law.
The notice contains the deadline for the filing of claims with the trustee: January 31, 2012. Close attention should be paid to the deadline as it is set by court order and by law. A failure to file a claim by the final deadline, even if by one day, will result in a denial of the claim. If you believe that you have a claim against MG Global Inc., you must file a timely claim in order to preserve your rights, even if your account has been transferred to another firm.
The trustee and his staff will review and determine all claims seeking customer protection in accordance with SIPA. Claimants are requested to provide complete information and documentation relating to their claim, including proof of payments made to MF Global Inc. and received from MF Global Inc., as this may help to expedite the processing of the claim.
The trustee is proceeding as expeditiously as possible to address the claims of all of the customers of MF Global Inc. in a timely manner.”
About SIPC
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation is the U.S. investor’s first line of defense in the event a brokerage firm fails and owes customers cash and securities missing from customer accounts. SIPC either acts as trustee or works with an independent court-appointed trustee in brokerage insolvency cases to recover funds.
The statute that created SIPC provides that customers of a failed brokerage firm receive all non-negotiable securities — such as stocks or bonds — that are already registered in the name of the customer or in the process of being registered. At the same time, funds from the SIPC reserve are available to satisfy the remaining claims for customer cash and/or securities held in custody with the broker for up to a maximum of $500,000 per customer. This figure includes a maximum of $250,000 on claims for cash. From the time Congress created it in 1970 through December 2010, SIPC has advanced $1.6 billion in order to make possible the recovery of $ 109.3 billion in assets for an estimated 739,000 investors.
For more information about SIPC, see “The Investor’s Guide to Brokerage Firm Liquidations” at http://www.sipc.org/pdf/SIPC_brochure_Investors_Guide_To_BD_Liquidations.pdf.
