CHICAGO, July 23 (Reuters) – CME Group Inc, the biggest
operator of U.S. futures exchanges, said it was “exploring the
concept” of having clearinghouses or other depositories keep all
customer money used to trade futures, after the collapse of two
brokerages left customers with as much as $1.8 billion in
losses.
The move would fundamentally change the U.S. futures
brokerage business, in which brokers traditionally hold most of
the money that customers put up to back their futures trades.
Any interest earned on customer funds would be returned to
the brokerages, CME said in a statement on Monday.
The bankruptcies of MF Global Inc in October and Peregrine
Financial Group this month left customers with a shortfall in
their accounts of as much as $1.8 billion, regulators have said.
