MF Global CEO Corzine resigns

Jon Corzine has resigned as MF Global Holdings Ltds chairman and chief executive,four days after the futures brokerage filed for bankruptcy protection,culminating a rapid downfall for one of Wall Streets best-known executives.

Jon Corzine has resigned as MF Global Holdings Ltds chairman and chief executive,four days after the futures brokerage filed for bankruptcy protection,culminating a rapid downfall for one of Wall Streets best-known executives.

Corzine,64,had run Goldman Sachs from 1994 to early 1999,and was later a US senator from New Jersey and governor of that state.

MF Global,a company that Corzine joined in March 2010 and had once joked was viewed as too small to care about, had been his ticket back to Wall Street.

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Corzines departure came after MF Globals $6.3 billion bet on sovereign debt from Belgium,Ireland,Italy,Portugal and Spain scared away clients,counterparties and investors.

The New York-based companys decline accelerated last week after it revealed more details about this exposure,posted a larger-than-expected quarterly loss,and was downgraded by major credit rating agencies to junk status.

US regulators,meanwhile,are conducting a broad review of the companys business as they try to track down more than $600 million of missing customer money. It is unclear how Corzines resignation might affect the various investigations.