The report further stated that although in the past, amounts less than $50 million were transferred the same way, the amounts started increasing as liquidity demands started escalating and could not be met from internal sources, with the hope that the funds would be restored. According to the report, banks, exchanges and clearing houses were the recipients of cash transactions amounting to more than $105 billion by MF Global in the week leading up to the bankruptcy filing. Securities transactions amounting to more than $100 billion were also executed by MF Global.

 

In the rush to cater to funding needs for collateral, margin and customer liquidations, securities sales, draws on credit facilities and inter-company loans were transacted. The chaos that followed led to erroneous recording of a number of transactions and some of them were even omitted. On October 31, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission was informed by MF Global that a shortfall of about $600 million was created due to the transfer of customer money out of segregated accounts. Giddens has since estimated this amount to be $1.2 billion.