RFXCQ - News and Analysis from Seeking Alpha 'RFXCQ' Tag RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/symbol/rfxcq Top Refco Exec Now At Man Financial http://seekingalpha.com/article/35075-top-refco-exec-now-at-man-financial?source=feed 35075

The failed brokerage’s former executive vice president and general counsel is now “senior vice president and chief compliance counsel” of futures brokerage Man Financial Inc, according to a document he signed seeking clarification of a court order in a CFTC ‘wash trades’ action against an international narcotics money-laundering ring.

]]> Wed, 09 May 2007 16:51:13 -0400 Greg Newton Greg Newton submits: Dennis A. Klejna has become one of the first top-level Refco (RFXCQ) executives to resurface in a new job, rather than as a defendant in a criminal action.

The failed brokerage’s former executive vice president and general counsel is now “senior vice president and chief compliance counsel” of futures brokerage Man Financial Inc, according to a document he signed seeking clarification of a court order in a CFTC ‘wash trades’ action against an international narcotics money-laundering ring.


Complete Story »]]> RFXCQ Greg Newton Refco’s Unhappy Ending-- Bankruptcy, Lies, and Legal Woes (RFXCQ) http://seekingalpha.com/article/13041-refcos-unhappy-ending-bankruptcy-lies-and-legal-woes-rfxcq?source=feed 13041 Wall Street Journal, there’s an article by a few guys that have been very busy: a nice update on the Refco (RFXCQ) meltdown from Carrick Mollencamp, Ian McDonald, and Peter A. McKay. While the article is short on many specifics, it mentions that investigators are finding that the Bermudan angle was played to the hilt by Refco. It was essentially unregulated by the United States authorities and unregulated by the Bermudan authorities. (I can’t say I’ve ever heard much about financial knaves being brought to heel by “Bermudan financial regulators.”)

Occupying that sweet spot of regulatory invisibility, the firm commingled its own funds with those of clients - definitely against U.S. standards. That ability to have a larger than allowed pool of resources (that included funds not their own) probably enabled the firm to engage in lending activities far riskier than its U.S. rivals. As WSJ the article reports:

“Big investors often borrow money from brokerages to invest, pledging securities in their portfolios as collateral. Most brokerages set limits on the emerging-market bonds and stocks they accept as collateral because of the risks associated with them. Refco Capital Markets often didn’t set such limits. Thomas Yorke, who ran the Refco Capital Markets financing desk, said in bankruptcy-court testimony that Refco Capital Markets “didn’t have any of the U.S. regulatory requirements to adhere to.”

]]> Wed, 05 Jul 2006 09:56:12 -0400 Jack Ciesielski Jack Ciesielski submits: In Monday morning’s Wall Street Journal, there’s an article by a few guys that have been very busy: a nice update on the Refco (RFXCQ) meltdown from Carrick Mollencamp, Ian McDonald, and Peter A. McKay. While the article is short on many specifics, it mentions that investigators are finding that the Bermudan angle was played to the hilt by Refco. It was essentially unregulated by the United States authorities and unregulated by the Bermudan authorities. (I can’t say I’ve ever heard much about financial knaves being brought to heel by “Bermudan financial regulators.”)

Occupying that sweet spot of regulatory invisibility, the firm commingled its own funds with those of clients - definitely against U.S. standards. That ability to have a larger than allowed pool of resources (that included funds not their own) probably enabled the firm to engage in lending activities far riskier than its U.S. rivals. As WSJ the article reports:

“Big investors often borrow money from brokerages to invest, pledging securities in their portfolios as collateral. Most brokerages set limits on the emerging-market bonds and stocks they accept as collateral because of the risks associated with them. Refco Capital Markets often didn’t set such limits. Thomas Yorke, who ran the Refco Capital Markets financing desk, said in bankruptcy-court testimony that Refco Capital Markets “didn’t have any of the U.S. regulatory requirements to adhere to.”


Complete Story »]]> RFXCQ Jack Ciesielski