How Sebi's new peak margin rules affects traders | Economic Times

From September 1, traders will have to shell out 100 per cent margins upfront for their trades due to the new peak margin norms of Sebi kicking in. Traders taking intra-day positions will be the most impacted since in the earlier system margins were calculated on end-of-the-day basis. Now, margin requirements will be calculated four times every session bringing even intraday positions under the ambit. These changes in the margin norms have created furore amongst traders as they will now have to deploy more cash as margin. ET takes a look at the impact of the new norms on market participants.WHAT WILL CHANGE FOR TRADERS FROM SEPTEMBER 1? Traders taking bets on futures and options (F&O) markets will have to shell out higher margin money making these trades more expensive. Essentially, they are required to cough up 100 per cent of margin upfront under the new peak margin norms. These margins would apply even to intra-day positions i.e. the ones where the trader enters and sells the contracts within the same market session. Currently, the upfront margin required is 75 per cent of the total margin. In other words, if a trader wants to buy a Nifty contract worth Rs 10 lakh, the margin at 20 per cent would be around Rs 2 lakh. Until August 30, the upfront margin was only Rs 1.75 lakh. WHAT IS PEAK MARGIN? Until last year, margins were collected based on end-of-the-day positions. For example, a client had exposure to Rs 1 crore worth F&O securities as on yesterday and he has taken up further exposure of Rs 1 crore during the current market session. In the old system, traders were not required to pay margin money for the Rs 1 crore additional exposure taken until the end of the session. This benefited the active traders since if the additional exposure taken was sold off by the end of the session, the transaction wouldn’t need any special margin money to be brought in. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) introduced the peak margin system late last year and it was to be implemented in four phases: first phase with 25 per cent peak margin, second phase with 50 per cent peak margin, third phase with 75 per cent peak margin and finally the complete implementation of upfront margin with effect from September 1. Under the peak margin system, the margin requirement is no longer calculated on the basis of end-of-the- day positions. Instead, the exchanges will sample the prices four times every session and the margins would be calculated based on this. So even the intra-day positions will come under margining.WHY THE CHANGES? The intention behind the changes was to control the leverage being taken by some of the traders and thereby reduce systemic risks. Many traders were taking extremely risky bets intra-day which were not being captured in the margin system. Brokers used to allow such positions as long as the margin money in their bank accounts was more than total leverage taken at the end of the market session. But now, the margin will be calculated based on the four price samplings of the exchange and during every point of the trading session, the margin money must be adequate or greater than the requirement.WHY ARE TRADERS ANGRY? Changes in rules have evoked strong reactions from the trader and broker community since they will have to shell out more money to bet in the futures market. The core of their contention is that intra-day positions will now need upfront margins. Also, if a trader falls short of these margins during the session, he would be liable to pay a penalty. So, if there are any wild price movements and margins of a trader fall short of the requirement, the same will be penalised. Brokers lobby ANMI has made several representations to exchanges, Sebi and the finance ministry seeking relief from these new rules.