A firm can require more collateral than the venue’s minimum

platformPublished 20 October 20261 min readmulti asset

Key points

• Venue minimums and house requirements are different numbers.
• A change in collateral can force a reduction even when the thesis is unchanged.
• This note does not publish a current collateral rate.

What is going on

Clearing houses set performance bond or collateral for listed contracts and revise it. Carrying brokers add their own requirement, often above that minimum, and they set rules for when a position is reduced if collateral is short. The CFTC and the National Futures Association describe the framework. CME Group publishes the venue side. Neither source is a broker’s house schedule.

Why it matters

A plan that uses only the venue minimum understates the cash the account may have to hold. A gap through a trigger can leave a loss larger than the collateral that was posted. That is a property of the contract and the rules, not a reason to invent a number.

What to watch

Read the firm’s collateral policy, how quickly it can change, and what the firm will do if the account falls short. Use a calculator only with a figure you have typed from a document.

Risks

Collateral rises in stressed markets, which is when cash is hardest to raise. Authorisation of the firm does not freeze the requirement.