Collapsed FX Broker’s Derivatives Counterparties Hit by 98% Loss

Officials winding down Argentex Group Plc have walked away from a volatile portfolio of currency derivatives that helped cause the UK brokerage’s collapse, with customers facing a near-total wipeout on most of their profitable trades.

The London-based firm, which fell into a form of insolvency in July, has issued “disclaimer notices” to counterparties on thousands of active trades in the last few weeks, according to several documents obtained by Bloomberg and filed with the UK Companies House.

Such notices are used to renounce insolvent firms’ ownership of “onerous” contracts. The legal maneuver crystallizes a 98% loss for most ...