Title: 21-08


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Description

The Division of Clearing and Risk (“DCR”) recently received several inquiries regarding the implementation of amendments to Regulation 39.13(g)(8)(ii) that the Commission adopted on January 27, 2020 with a compliance date of January 27, 2021. In particular, some market participants asked whether it would be permissible under Regulation 39.13(g)(8)(ii) as revised for a futures commission merchant (FCM) to assess whether a customer account presents a “heightened risk profile,” and is therefore subject to additional initial margin requirements, based on whether the account is a hedging or speculative account if the FCM concludes that is an appropriate method of assessing risk. DCR is confirming that it would be permissible for an FCM to do so, provided that the FCM maintains policies and procedures that demonstrate this is the risk analysis the FCM will use when determining whether to collect additional initial margin from a given customer.