He acknowledged lobbying the CFTC and its Chairman Gary Gensler, a former colleague at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., on a rule change relating to how client funds can be invested. Corzine said he took part in a conference call with Gensler on the matter, a conversation that involved other officials.
"According to the CFTC's records, I was not the only representative of the industry that had calls with members of the CFTC, including Chairman Gensler, regarding the proposed changes," Corzine said. He said that he and Gensler saw each other at a number of other personal and business events in 2010 and 2011, but that the two didn't discuss regulatory matters.
Gensler has recused himself from involvement in matters related to the MF Global bankruptcy because of his ties to Corzine, who was co-chairman of Goldman Sachs before entering politics. The client funds rule, which was delayed by Gensler to give commissioners more time to debate the regulation, has since been completed.
Corzine's testimony details events leading up to the firm's bankruptcy, insisting that its losses were related to ratings downgrades on its European debt portfolio, not to direct losses on those positions. Following a disappointing earnings report, clients and counterparties began to withdraw business and collateral.
"Despite our best efforts to sell assets and generate liquidity, the marketplace lost confidence in the firm," Corzine said.
Corzine reiterated that his knowledge of specific transactions involving client funds was limited.
"There were an extraordinary number of transactions during MF Global's last few days, and I do not know, for example, whether there were operational errors at MF Global or elsewhere, or whether banks and counterparties have held onto funds that should rightfully have been returned to MF Global," Corzine said. "I am sure that the trustee in bankruptcy, the SIPC receiver, and the regulators are working to answer these questions and to understand precisely what happened during the firm's last days and hours."