Nunca se assistiu a uma coisa assim!

Em oito dias a Refco faliu. Foi no passado dia 10 de Outubro que começaram os problemas com esta corretora. O notiCIas colocou aqui no Fórum uma notícia sobre os problemas de liquidez que estavam a afectar esta empresa. Uma semana depois é a falência.

A Refco entrou no mercado em Agosto deste ano, pela mão da Goldman Sachs. Não durou 3 meses. Parece que o colapso da Refco, embora não admitido oficialmente, tem a ver com um problema com os "over the counter derivatives".

Será que era sobre isto a reunião que o Greenspan teve com vários banqueiros no mês passado? Esta questão dos derivados é muito sensível e se alastra pode tornar-se um sério problema.

Para já o assunto tem sido tratado sem grandes ondas. Mas já existem vários processos judiciais (como não podia deixar de ser) contra a Refco e à medida que o tempo passa vão concerteza saber-se mais pormenores do que efectivamente aconteceu que levou ao colapso desta empresa.

Lembram-se do LTCM?



Commodities Broker Refco Files Chapter 11

Tuesday October 18, 10:03 am ET
By Michael J. Martinez, AP Business Writer 

Troubled Commodities Broker Refco Inc. Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection


NEW YORK (AP) -- Troubled commodities broker Refco Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it had reached a preliminary deal to sell its core futures brokerage business to a group of private investors for $768 million.

The consortium of would-be buyers for Refco LLC is led by private buyout firm J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, which specializes in taking distressed financial companies and either turning them around or selling the pieces to other companies.

As part of the agreement, Refco said Monday it will have the option to retain up to 20 percent of the equity value of the entities being sold.

The New York Stock Exchange said Friday that Refco's stock will be delisted as a result of the bankruptcy filing. Shares of Refco, which went public in August, lost more than 70 percent of their value last week before the Big Board suspended trading on Thursday.

The company said Mark Winkelman will serve as chairman of Refco LLC. Winkelman was formerly head of J. Aron & Co. and co-head of Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s fixed income division. Jacob Goldfield will serve as vice chairman.

The Flowers-led consortium includes The Enstar Group, Inc., Silver Point Capital, MatlinPatterson Global Advisers LLC, and Texas Pacific Group. Refco said it expects definitive agreements to be reached soon.

The bankruptcy filing, made late Monday, does not cover Refco's regulated subsidiaries -- Refco LLC, Refco Overseas Ltd. and Refco Singapore Ltd, and the registered broker dealer Refco Securities LLC.

The bankruptcy and brokerage sale capped a week of stunning disintegration for Refco, which disclosed Oct. 10 that its former CEO, Phillip R. Bennett, concealed a $430 million debt from the company's books. Bennett was arrested and charged with securities fraud after repaying the company that amount with interest.

Authorities said the hidden debt was as high as $545 million at one point.

The company last week froze customer accounts in its Refco Capital Markets offshore broker subsidiary until next week, and said Thursday it would liquidate its Refco Securities LLC subsidiary, which trades stocks, bonds and credit products.

While the company has refused to comment beyond its press releases, the subsidiary moves speak to an exodus of customers from all parts of Refco, analysts said, leading to a loss of assets and revenue potentially far greater than that caused by Bennett's alleged misconduct.

"I think, in this case, the parts of Refco are greater than the whole," said Denise Valentine, senior analyst at financial consulting group Celent. "There's been too much damage to turn it around and revive it."

Realmente é assombroso 

Ainda bem que eu não tinha lá conta...

e as consequências desta e das outras falências para os credores?

será que vamos assistir a um dominó de situações semelhantes?

Leiam este comentário de um analista financeiro. Dá que pensar...

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"This Refco story doesn't pass the smell test. The buyout is a few venture capitalists. These organizations have some money and access to finance but they are not the size one would expect for a bailout. Refco's new chairman will be Mark Winkelman ex- J.Aron $ Co. Now isn't that a coincidence that JP MorganChase has a connection here, who just happen to have the biggest derivatives portfolio in the world?

The ex-Goldman Sachs Chris Flowers is specialized in buying out distressed companies. There is a big difference between a distressed company that has its books in order such that due diligence can be performed and the risks assessed and then money can be made by buying it at less than its potential value with a view to fixing its problems and selling it later.

Refco has financial statements that can not be trusted. They have hidden things from the auditors in order to go public. You can not do due diligence on falsified accounts! There will be law suits against Refco. Unless you know the true state of its finances and what frauds have been committed its impossible to know what the potential litigation settlements could be. Nobody for pure business interests would rush in this quickly to buyout Refco with currently unknown risks. So this is a "bailout" NOT a "buyout".

To bailout such a situation so fast would require deep pockets and government backing. It is tempting to join the dots back to the extraordinary meeting of derivatives brokers at the FED in September.

Refco could be the 22nd named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season and turn into a Cat 5 as details unfold."

...

"The Refco affair smells worse by the minute. Their bankruptcy filing lists 48.8 B$ in assets and 48.6 B$ in liabilities. That is not technically bankrupt. I am not an accountant but I have seen a few balance sheets. If we look at the famous Amazon.com their current assets are 1.926 B$ and total liabilities 2.665 B$. No one considers that Amazon is close to declaring bankruptcy. We were told that the debt to Refco was repaid. The usual approach for this situation would have been loans or cash injection not bankruptcy filing (when they are not technically bankrupt) and an immediate buyout. If you can get a buyout so quickly you could get a cash injection or a loan quickly. Something is seriously wrong."