[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 12, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 12CFR220.4]

[Page 9-11]
 
                       TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING
 
                   CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
 
PART 220--CREDIT BY BROKERS AND DEALERS (REGULATION T)--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 220.4  Margin account.

    (a) Margin transactions. (1) All transactions not specifically 
authorized for inclusion in another account shall be recorded in the 
margin account.
    (2) A creditor may establish separate margin accounts for the same 
person to:

[[Page 10]]

    (i) Clear transactions for other creditors where the transactions 
are introduced to the clearing creditor by separate creditors; or
    (ii) Clear transactions through other creditors if the transactions 
are cleared by separate creditors; or
    (iii) Provide one or more accounts over which the creditor or a 
third party investment adviser has investment discretion.
    (b) Required margin--(1) Applicability. The required margin for each 
long or short position in securities is set forth in Sec. 220.12 (the 
Supplement) and is subject to the following exceptions and special 
provisions.
    (2) Short sale against the box. A short sale ``against the box'' 
shall be treated as a long sale for the purpose of computing the equity 
and the required margin.
    (3) When-issued securities. The required margin on a net long or net 
short commitment in a when-issued security is the margin that would be 
required if the security were an issued margin security, plus any 
unrealized loss on the commitment or less any unrealized gain.
    (4) Stock used as cover. (i) When a short position held in the 
account serves in lieu of the required margin for a short put, the 
amount prescribed by paragraph (b)(1) of this section as the amount to 
be added to the required margin in respect of short sales shall be 
increased by any unrealized loss on the position.
    (ii) When a security held in the account serves in lieu of the 
required margin for a short call, the security shall be valued at no 
greater than the exercise price of the short call.
    (5) Accounts of partners. If a partner of the creditor has a margin 
account with the creditor, the creditor shall disregard the partner's 
financial relations with the firm (as shown in the partner's capital and 
ordinary drawing accounts) in calculating the margin or equity of the 
partner's margin account.
    (6) Contribution to joint venture. If a margin account is the 
account of a joint venture in which the creditor participates, any 
interest of the creditor in the joint account in excess of the interest 
which the creditor would have on the basis of its right to share in the 
profits shall be treated as an extension of credit to the joint account 
and shall be margined as such.
    (7) Transfer of accounts. (i) A margin account that is transferred 
from one creditor to another may be treated as if it had been maintained 
by the transferee from the date of its origin, if the transferee 
accepts, in good faith, a signed statement of the transferor (or, if 
that is not practicable, of the customer), that any margin call issued 
under this part has been satisfied.
    (ii) A margin account that is transferred from one customer to 
another as part of a transaction, not undertaken to avoid the 
requirements of this part, may be treated as if it had been maintained 
for the transferee from the date of its origin, if the creditor accepts 
in good faith and keeps with the transferee account a signed statement 
of the transferor describing the circumstances for the transfer.
    (8) Sound credit judgment. In exercising sound credit judgment to 
determine the margin required in good faith pursuant to Sec. 220.12 (the 
Supplement), the creditor shall make its determination for a specified 
security position without regard to the customer's other assets or 
securities positions held in connection with unrelated transactions.
    (c) When additional margin is required--(1) Computing deficiency. 
All transactions on the same day shall be combined to determine whether 
additional margin is required by the creditor. For the purpose of 
computing equity in an account, security positions are established or 
eliminated and a credit or debit created on the trade date of a security 
transaction. Additional margin is required on any day when the day's 
transactions create or increase a margin deficiency in the account and 
shall be for the amount of the margin deficiency so created or 
increased.
    (2) Satisfaction of deficiency. The additional required margin may 
be satisfied by a transfer from the special memorandum account or by a 
deposit of cash, margin securities, exempted securities, or any 
combination thereof.
    (3) Time limits. (i) A margin call shall be satisfied within one 
payment period

[[Page 11]]

after the margin deficiency was created or increased.
    (ii) The payment period may be extended for one or more limited 
periods upon application by the creditor to its examining authority 
unless the examining authority believes that the creditor is not acting 
in good faith or that the creditor has not sufficiently determined that 
exceptional circumstances warrant such action. Applications shall be 
filed and acted upon prior to the end of the payment period or the 
expiration of any subsequent extension.
    (4) Satisfaction restriction. Any transaction, position, or deposit 
that is used to satisfy one requirement under this part shall be 
unavailable to satisfy any other requirement.
    (d) Liquidation in lieu of deposit. If any margin call is not met in 
full within the required time, the creditor shall liquidate securities 
sufficient to meet the margin call or to eliminate any margin deficiency 
existing on the day such liquidation is required, whichever is less. If 
the margin deficiency created or increased is $1000 or less, no action 
need be taken by the creditor.
    (e) Withdrawals of cash or securities. (1) Cash or securities may be 
withdrawn from an account, except if:
    (i) Additional cash or securities are required to be deposited into 
the account for a transaction on the same or a previous day; or
    (ii) The withdrawal, together with other transactions, deposits, and 
withdrawals on the same day, would create or increase a margin 
deficiency.
    (2) Margin excess may be withdrawn or may be transferred to the 
special memorandum account (Sec. 220.5) by making a single entry to that 
account which will represent a debit to the margin account and a credit 
to the special memorandum account.
    (3) If a creditor does not receive a distribution of cash or 
securities which is payable with respect to any security in a margin 
account on the day it is payable and withdrawal would not be permitted 
under this paragraph (e), a withdrawal transaction shall be deemed to 
have occurred on the day the distribution is payable.
    (f) Interest, service charges, etc. (1) Without regard to the other 
provisions of this section, the creditor, in its usual practice, may 
debit the following items to a margin account if they are considered in 
calculating the balance of such account:
    (i) Interest charged on credit maintained in the margin account;
    (ii) Premiums on securities borrowed in connection with short sales 
or to effect delivery;
    (iii) Dividends, interest, or other distributions due on borrowed 
securities;
    (iv) Communication or shipping charges with respect to transactions 
in the margin account; and
    (v) Any other service charges which the creditor may impose.
    (2) A creditor may permit interest, dividends, or other 
distributions credited to a margin account to be withdrawn from the 
account if:
    (i) The withdrawal does not create or increase a margin deficiency 
in the account; or
    (ii) The current market value of any securities withdrawn does not 
exceed 10 percent of the current market value of the security with 
respect to which they were distributed.

[Reg. T, 63 FR 2823, Jan. 16, 1998]