[ by Larry Goldfarb ]

Congressional Republicans on Thursday delivered the long-awaited "autopsy" report on MF Global.  Democrats on the committee tried to portray the report as somewhat of a political document as it attacks the former Democratic Governor Jon Corzine and sharply criticizes regulators for failing to share information as the brokerage firm was reeling.

The 100-page report, from Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee's oversight panel, highlights a "disorganized and haphazard" approach to regulatory oversight in the week before MF Global collapsed in 2011.  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the report, failed to coordinate as the firm was on the brink.

The report noted:

• The breakdown in communication among federal officials that, according to the report, contributed to the firm's demise.
• The Federal Reserve Bank  "should have exercised greater caution" when approving MF Global's application for the coveted status of selling securities on the Fed's behalf.
• Investors and customers would have been better served if the SEC and the CFTC streamlined their operations or combined into a single agency that oversaw all capital markets, citing "an apparent inability" of the regulators to coordinate their actions and share information with each other.

Republicans released the report months later than anticipated and without the support of House Democrats.

Some dissent was sowed in Congressional hearings that at times featured political bickering among members. On Wednesday, the oversight panel's top Democrat declined to endorse Republican Representative Randy Neugebauer's findings, saying he agreed with a number of the conclusions but needed additional time to review the document.  Michael Capuano, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said he would soon file an "addendum" to the report.

For the targets of the report, the splintered support provides a path to undermining the findings.  Democratic regulators and Jon S. Corzine, MF Global's former chief executive and a one-time Democratic senator from New Jersey, could dismiss the investigation as a partisan attack.

For further details, go to [Dealbook, 11/15/12].