The economics of performance margins in futures markets

✍ Scribed by Kandice H. Kahl; Roger D. Rutz; Jeanne C. Sinquefield

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1985
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 684 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0270-7314
• DOI: 10.1002/fut.3990050110

✦ Synopsis

erhaps no other subject area in the futures industry is as misunderstood as P the function of margins. Margins in futures markets perform different economic functions from margins in securities markets. However, people often mistakenly assume the functions are the same because the same terms are used. A margin in the securities market is a down payment for the security and results in an extension of credit. A margin in the futures market is essentially earnest money and represents a good-faith deposit to guarantee that the holder of the futures contract will perform.

No extension of credit is made for opening a position in the futures market. To minimize any misunderstanding in this article, the term "credit margin" will be used when referring to margins in securities markets and the term "performance margin" will be used when referring to margins in futures markets. Initial credit margins in securities markets are set by the Federal Reserve Board. Performance margins in futures markets are set by individual exchanges. These regulatory differences in administering credit-margin requirements and perform-Kandice H . Kahl was Group Manager, Research, Economic Analysis and Planning at the Chicago Board of Trade when this article was written.