NEW YORK—MF Global, the New York-based broker dealer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, becoming the first U.S.-based casualty of the European sovereign debt crisis.

The company announced the news in a message posted on its main website.

The commodities and derivatives trading firm was run by former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and had on its books more than $6.3 billion of European sovereign debt securities, from countries such as Italy and Spain. After being forced to write down the value of its bond holdings in adherence to last week’s EU resolution, MF Global filed for Chapter 11 on Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Two of the company’s biggest creditors are JPMorgan Chase Co. and Deutsche Bank AG, according to court documents. The shares of both firms declined Monday after the news.

MF Global executives worked through last weekend in an attempt to garner support for a full or partial sale of the company, with potential suitors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Corzine’s former firm. But negotiations fell apart over the weekend, and the company was forced to seek protection Monday.

Corzine joined the firm after losing to Chris Christie in the New Jersey governor’s race in 2010, and he tried to grow MF Global organically by placing large bets on the market—much like how firms invested large amounts into mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis. This led to MF Global becoming the biggest financial company to collapse since investment bank Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in late 2008.

In October, Belgian-French lender Dexia had to be rescued from bankruptcy due to losses from European debt holdings. Shares of MF Global (NYSE: MF) have fallen by more than 85 percent year to date.