MF Global's former CEO Jon Corzine confessed during his testimony before the House Committee on Agriculture, that he doesn't know the location of client money that went missing and that he inherited a firm doomed by the risks his predecessors took. It was not the answer that everyone wanted.  But, say this for Corzine, in his first appearance since resigning on 11/3 from MF Global, he has answered all questions posed 'to the best of his ability'.

[C-I Note: That will be the test, when other MF Global personnel are called to provide their accounts."  One has to recall that Martha Stewart went to jail, not for trading on insider information, but for lying under oath.  And that nearly cost her her life and her company.  She has since rebounded, but...]

Corzine Accepts Responsibility ... Up to a Point. Corzine tells that the firm had reported 5 consecutive losing quarters before he arrived.  Nevertheless, he accepted responsibility for the firm's risky bets and says its customers' losses weigh on his mind "every day, every hour."  Here are his answers to pointed questions:

Asked to explain the relationship between MF Global and regulators, Corzine said:  "We had discussions with FINRA, further discussions with the SEC, but had no significant challenges to how the firm was operating that I can recall."

Regarding compliance and accurate books and records, Corzine said that between audits, "I think I have reason to believe in our audit periods that our books and records weren't a mess."

Questioned directly about the transactions leading to over $1 billion in missing client funds, Corzine could not offer clarification.  "I never intended to break any rules.  I'm not in a position given the number of transactions to know about the movement of any specific funds.  I certainly would never intend to have segregated funds moved." He can't say whether there were "operational errors" at MF Global or whether other companies have held onto money that should be returned to MF Global.

Defending his tenure at the firm, he says MF Global toppled, in part, because of losses caused by his predecessors' accounting moves.  Rating agencies responded to the loss by downgrading the firm's credit rating, which panicked investors and trading partners. "The marketplace lost confidence in our firm."

Regarding his high-stakes bets, Corzine said they were made only after discussions with company executives who traded European debt long before he arrived.  And he said he did so while reducing MF Global's overall investment risks.

[C-I Note: Some outside experts challenged that assertion. Janet Tavakoli, an expert on the transactions MF Global specialized in, said Corzine's remarks seem intended to divert attention from the firm's fundamental flaw: It lacked the cash to cover its bets after investors started to fear that a major European nation would default.  "When he had to ... meet margin calls, he couldn't meet it with MF Global money."] Corzine disputes media reports that he personally pushed the company to make big, doomed bets on risky European debt using too much borrowed money.  He says the company's revenue was "drying up" when he arrived because of competition from online and high-tech brokerages.  And he points out that use of leverage decreased under his reign.  He also favored the trades that doomed the company only after discussions with MF Global's senior traders.   [The AP, via CNBC.com, 12/8/11]