On August 14, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that it has approved two proposals to amend margin requirements for swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs).

The first proposal would revise the method for determining if certain entities are subject to initial margin requirements and the timing for compliance with the initial margin requirements after the end of the phased compliance schedule. This proposal would create better alignment with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ margin requirements for non-cleared derivatives.

The second proposal would permit the application of separate minimum transfer amounts for initial and variation margin, as well as a minimum transfer amount of up to $50,000 for separately managed accounts.

The CFTC press release is available here.