Category: Media

Reuters
The deal has met with criticism from at least one lawyer representing customers of MF’s commodities brokerage. Attorney James Koutoulas said the bank should not be entitled to any lien on property that could end up belonging to customers. Koutoulas on Wednesday voiced concern that his objection has been postponed with each extension of the deal, saying the terms of the agreement could leave open “the possibility that continues the very sovereign debt trades that caused the bankruptcy to begin with.”

The Wall Street Journal
The group, which represents customers who hold more than 7,000 MF Global accounts, is revving up a lobbying effort as Congress prepares to grill regulators on the MF Global bankruptcy and a shortfall of customer funds that could total $1.2 billion, twice what was originally thought. It also could turn to the courts as part of its effort to get customer funds back

Chicago Tribune
The coalition grew out of a meeting with James L. Koutoulas, chief executive of commodity trading company Typhon Capital Management of Chicago, shortly after the announcement of MF Global’s bankruptcy on Oct. 31. We found each other through social media. We set up a conference call, and before we knew it, there were hundreds of people on it — just talking about the situation, how untenable it was and how there was really nobody representing customer interests. … Informally, we started talking about what we could do, what legal avenues we could pursue, to get before the court. But it was so cost-prohibitive that nobody wanted to do it. We’re talking about getting just one pleading before the (bankruptcy) court costing $25,000 or $50,000.

Fortune
Led by a sense of outrage — as well as the conviction that if they don’t look out for themselves, no one else will — investors have been pooling information and banding together to defend themselves for weeks. The most prominent group has been the Commodity Customer Coalition, spearheaded by James Koutoulas, chief executive of Typhon Capital Management, who’s representing a few thousand former MF Global clients.

Forbes
On Monday, the Commodity Customer Coalition filed court papers objecting to a lien on MF Global assets secured by J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) in exchange for allowing the bankrupt firm to use around $8 million in cash for another 5 days. J.P. Morgan, who is the largest creditor of MF Global, is also seeking “super-priority” liens on MF assets, which would put the bank at the head of the line to recover funds – before even customers are made whole. Koutoulas told Benzinga that “I think JP Morgan realizes we made some really good points in our objection to their motion, and they are stalling the hearing on this as much as they can.”

Futures Magazine
James Koutoulas, co-founder of the Commodity Customer Coalition, noted, “Customers finally have a seat at the table. We are grateful to Judge Glenn for the opportunity to present our case directly to the Trustee and effect a faster, more equitable distribution of customer assets.”

The New York Post
James Koutoulas, the lawyer for the 7,000 MF clients, known as the Commodity Customer Coalition, criticized the move, saying it will subject clients to months or even years of clawback actions. Koutoulas wants his MF clients to be first in line to be repaid in MF’s rancorous Chapter 11. Currently, JP Morgan Chase is the top creditor.

The Wall Street Journal
Typhon’s Koutoulas, who is representing a coalition of several thousand former MF Global clients, said in an interview he intends to present on Wednesday a separate plan that would see all customer assets released by MF Global, using electronic account reports that had been generated daily by MF Global until a few days ago to figure out exactly how much each former client is owed. Similar records were used to arrange the bulk transfer of trading positions, he said.

Reuters
JPMorgan received a lien on some MF assets in return for letting MF Global use the $8 million in cash collateral now being used by the company in bankruptcy. That drew the ire of some commodities customers who say JPMorgan was not entitled to any lien that would pay it back before customers. A group called the Commodity Customer Coalition, led by attorney and Typhon Capital Management CEO James Koutoulas, objected to the lien in court papers on Monday.

Futures Magazine
“What is clear is that the trustee is trying to make as much money as possible,” says James Koutoulas, co-founder of the Commodity Customer Coalition. Koutoulas is representing a group of former MF Global customer and brokers and is looking for the trustee to return all customer segregated fund to their rightful owners.