---
kind: "section"
citation: "12 C.F.R. § 349.21"
title: "12"
number: "349.21"
heading: "Margin requirements."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/12/349.21"
---

# §349.21. Margin requirements.

- (a) **Margin required.** An FDIC-supervised insured depository institution engaging, or offering to engage, in retail forex transactions must collect from each retail forex customer an amount of margin not less than:
  - (1) Two percent of the notional value of the retail forex transaction for major currency pairs and 5 percent of the notional value of the retail forex transaction for all other currency pairs;
  - (2) For short options, 2 percent for major currency pairs and 5 percent for all other currency pairs of the notional value of the retail forex transaction, plus the premium received by the retail forex customer; or
  - (3) For long options, the full premium charged and received by the FDIC-supervised insured depository institution.
- (b)
  - (1) **Form of margin.** Margin collected under [paragraph (a)](#a) of this section or pledged by a retail forex customer for retail forex transactions in excess of the requirements of [paragraph (a)](#a) of this section must be in the form of cash or the following financial instruments:
    - (i) Obligations of the United States and obligations fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States;
    - (ii) General obligations of any State or of any political subdivision thereof;
    - (iii) General obligations issued or guaranteed by any enterprise, as defined in [12 U.S.C. 4502(10)](/usc/12/4502.md?p=10);
    - (iv) Certificates of deposit issued by an insured depository institution, as defined in § 3(c)(2) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act ([12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(2)](/usc/12/1813.md?p=c-2));
    - (v) Commercial paper;
    - (vi) Corporate notes or bonds;
    - (vii) General obligations of a sovereign nation;
    - (viii) Interests in money market mutual funds; and
    - (ix) **Such other financial instruments as the FDIC deems appropriate.**
  - (2) **Haircuts.** An FDIC-supervised insured depository institution shall establish written policies and procedures that include:
    - (i) Haircuts for noncash margin collected under this section; and
    - (ii) **Annual evaluation, and, if appropriate, modification of the haircuts.**
- (c) **Separate margin account.** Margin collected by the FDIC-supervised insured depository institution from a retail forex customer for retail forex transactions or pledged by a retail forex customer for retail forex transactions shall be placed into a separate account containing only such margin.
- (d) **Margin calls; liquidation of position.** For each retail forex customer, at least once per day, an FDIC-supervised insured depository institution shall:
  - (1) Mark the value of the retail forex customer's open retail forex positions to market;
  - (2) Mark the value of the margin collected under this section from the retail forex customer to market;
  - (3) Determine if, based on the marks in paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section, the FDIC-supervised insured depository institution has collected margin from the retail forex customer sufficient to satisfy the requirements of this section; and
  - (4) Collect such margin from the retail forex customer as the FDIC-supervised insured depository institution may require to satisfy the requirements of this section, or liquidate the retail forex customer's retail forex transactions.
- (e) **Set-off prohibited.** An FDIC-supervised insured depository institution may not:
  - (1) Apply a retail forex customer's retail forex obligations against any funds or other asset of the retail forex customer other than margin in the separate margin account described in [paragraph (c)](#c) of this section;
  - (2) Apply a retail forex customer's retail forex obligations to increase the amount owed by the retail forex customer to the FDIC-supervised insured depository institution under any loan; or
  - (3) **Collect the margin required under this section by use of any right of set-off.**

## Notes

### Amendments

[76 FR 40789, July 12, 2011. Redesignated at 80 FR 74912, Nov. 30, 2015]

### Authority

Authority: 12 U.S.C.1813(q), 1818, 1819, and 3108; 7 U.S.C. 2(c)(2)(E), 27 et seq.

### Source

Source: 76 FR 40789, July 12, 2011, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[76 FR 40789, July 12, 2011. Redesignated at 80 FR 74912, Nov. 30, 2015]