For many in the agricultural community, the failure of MF Global shook the very foundation on which the hedging industry is built. Since the beginning of this unprecedented ordeal, the CME Group has advocated on behalf of our members and customers, and we will continue doing everything in our power to ensure that another failure at the firm level does not happen again. Most important to us is that all customers affected see their property returned -- as much as possible, as soon as possible.
Our work with the Bankruptcy Trustee has already helped to accelerate that process. We successfully transferred 15,000 customer accounts and $1.45 billion in the week following the MF Global bankruptcy. We also provided a guarantee of $550 million to the trustee to speed the return of funds, and pledged an additional $50 million from CME Trust. After more than two months into the bankruptcy proceedings, customers have seen 72 percent of their funds returned. We continue to provide updates to this process, and all information related to this situation can be found at www.cmegroup.com/mfglobal.
The past year brought a great deal of change, positive and negative, and the year ahead will be challenging. But for more than 150 years, CME Group has succeeded in changing environments by finding better solutions for our customers and embracing the opportunities those changes present. We will continue to do that, on your behalf, in the weeks and months ahead.
Bryan Durkin | CME Group Chief Operating Officer and Managed Director, Products & Services
