CHICAGO, Nov 22, 2011 -- As you may know, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Trust is the sole donor of the CME Group Foundation. The Trust was established in 1969 to provide financial assistance, on a discretionary basis, to customers of any clearing firm that becomes insolvent. On October 31, 2011, MF Global Inc., one of CME Group’s former clearing firms, was placed into bankruptcy liquidation. On November 11, 2011, the Trustees of the Trust agreed to make all of its assets, approximately $50 million, available to CME Group market participants in the event there is a shortfall at the conclusion of the Bankruptcy Trustee's distribution process.

Due to this extraordinary circumstance, all new CME Group Foundation grant proposals will be put on hold until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause grant applicants. Grants previously approved by the Board of Directors of the CME Group Foundation and as evidenced by an existing grant agreement will continue to be honored.