Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Corzine Had A Real Hard-On For Risky Trading
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 12, 2011
Modified Dec 12, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 12, 2011
Modified Dec 12, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
If you want to be further outraged by the antics of former NJ governor Jon Corzine, whose leadership of brokerage MF Global essentially resulted in its collapse (and there's still a billion dollars in client funds missing!), read this NY Times feature, titled, "A Romance With Risk That Brought On a Panic." But romance is too pretty a word: "He pushed through a $6.3 billion bet on European debt — a wager big enough to wipe out the firm five times over if it went bad — despite concerns from other executives and board members. And it is now clear that he personally lobbied regulators and auditors about the strategy."
Corzine, former Goldman Sachs head, is described as a sweater vest-wearing, avuncular figure and "popular manager" who "often started his day with a five-mile run, landing in the office by 6 a.m. and was regularly the last person to leave the office." Also, "unusually for a chief executive, he became a core member of the group that traded using the firm’s money. His profits and losses appeared on a separate line in documents with his initials: JSC." He did, famously, lobby the government not to curb risky trades.
Reuters' Felix Salmon read the article and writes, "Now it’s looking increasingly as though Corzine demonstrated virtually all of the pathologies of the rogue trader more generally," and describes the four qualities of a "rogue trader": "they develop an ability to circumvent risk-management controls; they aspire to be recognized as a star trader making huge amounts of money for the firm; they tend to arrive earlier and leave later than anybody else, as they jealously guard their trades; and they panic when losses start appearing, doing things which are downright illegal in the process." He's also aghast at Corzine's trades at MF Global, "Does this happen elsewhere? Are there other brokerages where the CEO has his own personal P&L line in the trading books? Citadel, perhaps. But this is not a good idea. You want the CEO encouraging the rest of the trading desk, not competing with them. "
Tagged
collapse
economy
finance
jon corzine
mf global
risk
rogue trade
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens mother charged with murdering her son after failed suicide attempt, NYPD says
Sukken Wong, 62, allegedly stabbed her nonverbal son, Byran Wong, 25, to death.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 23, 2026 at 8:01 a.m. ET
Your guide to voting in New York's 2026 elections for governor and Congress
A primer on the races for governor, attorney general and the congressional districts that could help determine control of the U.S. House.
By
Walter Wuthmann
,
Jon Campbell
and
Brigid Bergin
News
Your guide to voting in New York's 2026 elections for governor and Congress
A primer on the races for governor, attorney general and the congressional districts that could help determine control of the U.S. House.
By
Walter Wuthmann
,
Jon Campbell
and
Brigid Bergin
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
By
Ryan Kost
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .