Some MF Customers See Frozen Funds Thaw, Others Face Longer Wait

Some former customers of MF Global Holdings Ltd. (MFGLQ) saw frozen funds begin to thaw Wednesday, though others face a longer wait to access trading collateral locked up in the broker-dealer's bankruptcy, according to exchange operator CME Group Inc. (CME).

CME and other derivatives exchanges began early Wednesday lifting a hold on futures-trading margin parked by customers at MF Global, after arranging a mass exodus of brokers, hedge funds and individual investors' trading business out of the failed firm last Friday.

Those customer accounts that dealt in options, however, must wait longer as the exchanges, clearinghouses and regulators ensure that all former MF Global clients are treated fairly and that some funds remain under control of the trustee overseeing the compay's liquidation.

The "massive undertaking" of shifting more than 15,000 customer accounts and the complexity of managing the transfer to other clearing firms has meant that "the validation of each account's collateral balance is taking longer than originally anticipated," CME officials said in a statement Wednesday.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; 312 750 4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com

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