(Reuters) - Independent U.S. futures broker PFGBest said it had effectively frozen customer accounts on Monday after a suicide attempt by the company's founder set off an investigation into possible "accounting irregularities."
In a dramatic turn that may trigger a new round of anxiety over the stability of the brokerage industry less than a year after the collapse of much larger MF Global, the Cedar Falls, Iowa-based firm told customers that they would be limited to liquidating open positions until further notice.
The disclosure came hours after owner Russell R. Wasendorf Sr, a 40-year veteran of commodity markets, was found in his car near the company's new headquarters, having apparently attempted to commit suicide. He is in critical condition at the University of Iowa Hospitals, according to local news reports.
PFGBest, which brokered trades in U.S. commodity and foreign exchange futures and options, told clients that the National Futures Association (NFA) and other officials had put its funds on hold, and that it was in "liquidation-only" status with its futures commission merchant (FCM), which clears its trades.
"What this means is no customers are able to trade except to liquidate positions. Until further notice, PFGBEST is not authorized to release any funds," the note said.
PFGBest officials were not immediately available to comment. Messages and emails to NFA were not returned.
With about $400 million in segregated customer accounts, less than a tenth the amount MF Global had when it filed for bankruptcy, the fallout will likely be less severe. But news of more financial troubles in the brokerage sector still threatens to further erode confidence.
There was no indication that segregated funds had been breached, as is suspected with MF Global.
"WE'RE DOOMED"
One broker at the firm said that Wasendorf's son, Russ Wasendorf Jr, briefed employees about the events earlier in the day, saying that a suicide note had been found alluding to some kind of financial troubles with the company. The younger Wasendorf "sounded like he was in another world."
"Everybody here is obviously in shock," said the broker, adding that some employees had begun packing up shortly after the announcements.
"Pretty much everybody around here said we're doomed."
One former employee of the firm said he had grown concerned that Wasendorf didn't do more to distance the company from a massive $194 million forex-trading Ponzi scheme run by Trevor Cook in Minnesota, who admitted defrauding more than 700 investors. Cook is serving 25 years in prison.
In February PFGBest, which had acted as Cook's broker, was fined $700,000 by the NFA for failing to notice the scheme. The company was subsequently sued for $48 million by the receiver rounding up the assets from Cook's scheme.
FROM BASEMENT TO COMPOUND
PFGBest is far smaller than the big investment banks that dominate the brokerage business, but was among a dozen or so well-known independent firms that tended to cater to local traders, farmers or smaller market players.
Russell R. Wasendorf Sr started as a commodities trader in the basement of his Cedar Falls home in 1972, offering seminars and educational programs to other traders. In 1990 he launched Peregrine Financial Group, which would become PFGBest, and was an early promoter of electronic trading systems.
He expanded the business in the late 1980s after making a windfall profit for himself and customers by advising them to short the financial futures market 10 days before the "Black Monday" stock market crash of 1987, the firm's website says.
The firm grew significantly over the past decade, opening offices in Canada and Shanghai, and buying smaller rival Alaron in 2009. It also moved its headquarters from Chicago back to Wasendorf's hometown of Cedar Falls.
"It's obviously a lot cheaper to hire someone in Iowa than it is in Chicago," said the former employee.
“这里显然便宜很多，聘请爱荷华州的人比在芝加哥便宜很多，”一位前任雇员说道。作者: coollyw 时间: 2012-7-10 20:24 标题: PFGBest customer bank account missing some $220 million: NFA (Reuters) - One of U.S. broker PFGBest's main customer bank accounts was found to be missing around $220 million (141.6 million pounds)in segregated funds earlier on Monday, the U.S. futures industry group said as it froze the broker's funds.
On June 29, PFGBest clearing unit Peregrine Financial Group (PFG) told the National Futures Association that it held $400 million in customer segregated funds, of which over $225 million was on deposit at an unnamed U.S. bank, according to a copy of the NFA's emergency enforcement action.
But on Monday, after receiving information that PFG's founder and owner may have falsified bank records, the NFA said that only $5 million was on account at the bank days earlier. It also said that previous bank balances from February 2010 and March 2011, reported in excess of $200 million, may in fact have held less than $10 million at those times. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/09/uk-broker-pfgbest-moneymissing-idUKBRE8681HF20120709作者: cooltree37 时间: 2012-7-11 16:14
7月11日最新获悉，根据法院的一份文件资料显示，美国期货经纪商百利金融集团(PFGBest)母公司已经依照美国破产法第7章申请 破产。
据了解，最近有媒体爆出，百利金融集团旗下客户账户内一笔2.2亿美元左右的资金不翼而飞。
美国破产法院的资料显示，Peregrine目前的资产总规模为5亿美元至10亿美元，负债水平为1亿美元至5亿美元。债权人数量约为10000名至25000名。美国期货委员会提交的诉讼资料显示，至少从2010年2月开始，百利金融集团的客户账户中出现了2.2亿美元的资金短缺，但对于这笔资金的具体去向并不清楚。不仅如此，委员会在经过审视后认为，百利金融集团已经无法达到最低资本金及最低分离资本金的要求，这就意味着其无法行使为客户交易的职责。
百利金融集团总裁签署了一项授权破产的股东处置方案。处置方案表示，小罗素·华盛道夫被授权代理百利金融集团执行创始人、董事长兼首席执行相关决议。拉塞尔·沃森道夫曾在本月9日因客户账户资金问题试图自杀，但自杀未果。作者: redstart 时间: 2012-7-11 16:15
这应该是次契机 既MFG和PFG后，CFTC应该要拿出点新政策出来