A reporter inquired about MF Global's inclusion on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's primary dealers list and the possibly effects of the company's bankruptcy.
Bernanke said MF Global was added to the NY Fed's list of primary dealers in February this year because it had met the criteria set forth to trade with the federal government. But, he emphasized, the primary dealer designation does not constitute a seal of approval.
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He added that the Fed stopped trading with MF Global before they failed and they suffered no losses from the company's failure. Bear in mind that the NY Fed suspended business with MF Global around 7 a.m. this Monday - the company declared bankruptcy 3.5 hours later)
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He was also quick to push the blame elsewhere - emphasizing that the Fed were not the regulators of Jon Corzine's bankrupt firm. MF Global is a futures brokerage and mainly regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities & Exchange Commission.
In a nutshell, rather vague and ambiguous comments.
Below is the video of Bernanke's comments.
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