In the wake of JPMorgan’s ill-conceived hedging strategy, which cost the bank its sterling reputation along with $2 billion and counting, Advanced Trading decided to highlight some of Wall Street’s worst bets ever.
May 21, 2012
7. Jon Corzine, MF Global
After seeing his bid for another term as governor of New Jersey thwarted by Chris Christie, Jon Corzine landed on both feet, assuming leadership of the futures and bond dealer MF Global. At Corzine’s direction, the firm bet $6 billion on sovereign bonds issued by European countries. Those wagers ultimately went bad and led to the biggest collapse of a Wall Street firm since Lehman Brothers’ demise. Meanwhile Corzine remains dogged by suspicions over whether the brokerage illegally dipped into customer accounts to meet capital requirements once the firm began losing money.
