1 Leverage Limits

 1.1 Margins
Leverage limits were set by CBI at different levels depending on the underlying:

• 3.33% for major currency pairs; Major currency pairs are any combination of USD; CAD; EUR; GBP; CHF; JPY
• 5% for:
  • Non-major currency pairs are any combination that includes a currency not listed above, e.g., USD.CNH
  • Major indices are IBUS500; IBUS30; IBUST100; IBGB100; IBDE40; IBEU50; IBFR40; IBJP225; IBAU200
  • Gold
• 10% for non-major equity indices; IBES35; IBCH20; IBNL25; IBHK50
• 20% for individual equities

 1.2 Applied Margins - Standard Requirement

In addition to the CBI Margins, IBKR establishes its own margin requirements (IB Margins) based on the historical volatility of the underlying, and other factors. We will apply the IB Margins if they are higher than those prescribed by CBI .

Details of applicable IB and CBI margins can be found here.

1.2.1 Applied Margins - Concentration Minimum

A concentration charge is applied if your portfolio consists of a small number of CFD and/or Stock positions, or if the three largest positions have a dominant weight. We stress the portfolio by applying a 30% adverse move on the three largest positions and a 5% adverse move on the remaining positions. The total loss is applied as the maintenance margin requirement if it is greater than the standard requirement for the combined Stock and CFD positions. Note that the concentration charge is the only instance where CFD and Stock positions are margined together.

1.3 Funding of Initial Margin Requirements

You can only use cash to post initial margin to open a CFD position.

Initially all cash used to fund the account is available for CFD trading. Any initial margin requirements for other instruments and cash used to purchase cash stock reduce the available cash. If your cash stock purchases have created a margin loan, no funds are available for CFD trades even if your account has significant equity. We cannot increase a margin loan to fund CFD margin under the CBI rules.

Realized CFD profits are included in cash and are available immediately; the cash does not have to settle first. Unrealized profits however cannot be used to meet initial margin requirements.

2 Margin Close Out Rule

2.1 Maintenance Margin Calculations & Liquidations

The CBI requires IBKR to liquidate CFD positions latest when qualifying equity falls below 50% of the initial margin posted to open the positions. IBKR may close out positions sooner if our risk view is more conservative. Qualifying equity for this purpose includes CFD cash and unrealized CFD P&L (positive and negative). Note that CFD cash excludes cash supporting margin requirements for other instruments. 

The basis for the calculation is the initial margin posted at the time of opening a CFD position. In other words, and unlike margin calculations applicable to non-CFD positions, the initial margin amount does not change when the value of the open position changes.

2.1.1 Example

You have EUR 2000 cash in your account and no open positions. You want to buy 100 CFDs of XYZ at a limit price of EUR 100. You are first filled 50 CFDs and then the remaining 50. Your available cash reduces as your trades are filled:

 *Equity equals Cash plus Unrealized P&L

The price increases to 110. Your equity is now 3000, but you cannot open additional positions because your available cash is still 0, and under the CBI rules IM and MM remain unchanged:

 The price then drops to 95. Your equity declines to 1500 but there is no margin violation since it is still greater than the 1000 requirement:

 The price falls further to 85, causing a margin violation and triggering a liquidation:

 3 Negative Equity Protection

The CBI Decision limits your CFD-related liability to the funds dedicated to CFD-trading. Other financial instruments (e.g., shares or futures) cannot be liquidated to satisfy a CFD margin-deficit.*

Therefore, non-CFD assets are not part of your capital at risk for CFD trading. 

Should you lose more than the cash dedicated to CFD trading, IB must write off the loss. 

As Negative Equity Protection represents additional risk to IBKR, we will charge retail investors an additional financing spread of 1% for CFD positions held overnight. You can find detailed CFD financing rates here.

*Although we cannot liquidate non-CFD positions to cover a CFD deficit, we can liquidate CFD positions to cover a non-CFD deficit.

1 Leverage Limits

1.1 ESMA Margins
Leverage limits were set by ESMA at different levels depending on the underlying:

• 3.33% for major currency pairs; Major currency pairs are any combination of USD; CAD; EUR; GBP; CHF; JPY
• 5% for non-major currency pairs and major indices;
  • Non-major currency pairs are any combination that includes a currency not listed above, e.g. USD.CNH
  • Major indices are IBUS500; IBUS30; IBUST100; IBGB100; IBDE40; IBEU50; IBFR40; IBJP225; IBAU200
• 10% for non-major equity indices; IBES35; IBCH20; IBNL25; IBHK50
• 20% for individual equities

 1.2 Applied Margins - Standard Requirement

In addition to the ESMA Margins, IBKR (UK) establishes its own margin requirements (IB Margins) based on the historical volatility of the underlying, and other factors. We will apply the IB Margins if they are higher than those prescribed by ESMA.

Details of applicable IB and ESMA margins can be found here.

1.2.1 Applied Margins - Concentration Minimum

A concentration charge is applied if your portfolio consists of a small number of CFD positions, or if the three largest positions have a dominant weight. We stress the portfolio by applying a 30% adverse move on the three largest positions and a 5% adverse move on the remaining positions. The total loss is applied as the maintenance margin requirement if it is greater than the standard requirement.

1.3 Funds Available for Initial Margin

You can only use cash to post initial margin to open a CFD position. Realized CFD profits are included in cash and are available immediately; the cash does not have to settle first. Unrealized profits however cannot be used to meet initial margin requirements.

1.4 Automatic Funding of Initial Margin Requirements (F-segments)

IBKR (UK) automatically transfers funds from your main account to the F-segment of your account to fund initial margin requirements for CFDs.

Note however that no transfers are made to satisfy CFD maintenance margin requirements. Therefore if qualifying equity (defined below) becomes insufficient to meet margin requirements, a liquidation will occur even if you have ample funds in your main account. If you wish to avoid a liquidation you must transfer additional funds to the F-segment in Account Management.

2 Margin Close Out Rule

2.1 Maintenance Margin Calculations & Liquidations

ESMA requires IBKR to liquidate CFD positions latest when qualifying equity falls below 50% of the initial margin posted to open the positions. IBKR may close out positions sooner if our risk view is more conservative. Qualifying equity for this purpose includes cash in the F-segment (excluding cash in any other account segment) and unrealized CFD P&L (positive and negative).

The basis for the calculation is the initial margin posted at the time of opening a CFD position. In other words, and unlike margin calculations applicable to non-CFD positions, the initial margin amount does not change when the value of the open position changes.

2.1.1 Example

You have EUR 2000 cash in your CFD account. You want to buy 100 CFDs of XYZ at a limit price of EUR 100. You are first filled 50 CFDs and then the remaining 50. Your available cash reduces as your trades are filled:

*Equity equals Cash plus Unrealized P&L

The price increases to 110. Your equity is now 3000, but you cannot open additional positions because your available cash is still 0, and under the ESMA rules IM and MM remain unchanged:

 The price then drops to 95. Your equity declines to 1500 but there is no margin violation since it is still greater than the 1000 requirement:

The price falls further to 85, causing a margin violation and triggering a liquidation:

3 Negative Equity Protection

The ESMA Decision limits your CFD-related liability to the funds dedicated to CFD-trading. Other financial instruments (e.g. shares or futures) cannot be liquidated to satisfy a CFD margin-deficit.*

Therefore assets in the security and commodity segments of your main account, and non-CFD assets held in the F-segment, are not part of your capital at risk for CFD trading. However, all cash in the F-segment can be used to cover losses arising from CFD trading.

As Negative Equity Protection represents additional risk to IBKR, we will charge retail investors an additional financing spread of 1% for CFD positions held overnight. You can find detailed CFD financing rates here.

*Although we cannot liquidate non-CFD positions to cover a CFD deficit, we can liquidate CFD positions to cover a non-CFD deficit.

4 Incentives Offered to trade CFDs

The ESMA Decision imposes a ban on monetary and certain types of non-monetary benefits related to CFD trading. IBKR does not offer any bonus or other incentives to trade CFDs.

Transparent DMA Quotes: IBA ensures tight spreads and substantial liquidity as a result of combining quotation streams from 14 of the world's largest foreign exchange dealers which constitute more than 70% of market share in the global interbank market*. This results in displayed quotes as small as 0.1 PIP. IBA does not mark up the quotes, rather passes through the prices that it receives and charges a separate low commission.

*Source: Euromoney FX survey FX Poll 2016.

Carry Interest: Forex CFDs are rolled over reflecting the benchmark interest rate differential of the relevant currency pair. This is in principle similar to the TOM Next rolls used by other brokers, but offers greater stability as benchmark rates generally are less volatile than swap rates. In addition IBA applies a low financing spread that for major pairs starts at just 1.0% and can be as low as 0.5% for large balances. More volatile pairs have higher financing spreads.

The carry interest for IBA Forex CFDs is based on a currency-pair specific benchmark and a spread. The benchmark is the difference between the IBA benchmark rates for the two currencies. It is calculated as + BM Base currency – BM Quote currency.

For example, April 21, 2016 the GBP benchmark rate was 0.483%, the USD rate was 0.37%. The applicable benchmark rate is:

GBP.USD BM +0.48% - 0.37% = +0.113%

The applicable customer rate is Pair BM – IBA spread for long positions, BM + spread for short positions:

GBP.USD Long Rate +0.113% - 1.00% = -0.887%

GBP.USD Short Rate +0.113% + 1.00% = +1.113%

It is important to note that the long rate is applied as a credit, the short rate as a debit. Consequently for a long position a positive rate means a credit, a negative rate a charge. However for short positions a positive rate means a charge, a negative rate a credit.

Interest is calculated on the contract value expressed in the quote currency, and credited or debited in that currency if it is either AUD or USD. Interest in other currencies is converted into the base currency of your account and then credited or debited.

For example:

Interest on Forex CFD balances is calculated on a stand-alone contract basis, and not combined or netted with other currency exposures, including Spot FX. Although IBA does not directly reference swap rates, IBA reserves the right to apply higher spreads in exceptional market conditions, such as during spikes in swap rates that can occur around fiscal year-ends.
Detailed interest schedules can be viewed here.

Trading: IBA Forex CFDs can be traded either in classical TWS or in the IBA FX Trader, with over 20 available order types and algos. To find the contract you want to trade in classical TWS or FX Trader, enter the currency pair (i.e. EUR.USD) and choose Sec Type CFD in the Contract Selection pop-up.

Margin: IBA Forex CFD margins are determined for each currency pair on a per contract basis without regard to other Forex balances held in the account. Margins start as low as 2.5% of contract value for major currency pairs. Details for all currency pairs can be found here.

Commissions: IBA passes through the prices that it receives and charges a separate low commission. We do this in the interest of providing a transparent pricing structure instead of marking up our quotes and charging nothing in commissions as is the practice with many forex brokers. Commissions are tiered based on monthly traded value, and range from 0.20 basis points to 0.08 basis points.

Details are found here.

Trading Permissions: In order to trade Forex CFDs, you must set up the trading permission for Forex CFDs in Account Management. The suitability criteria are the same as those for Leverage FX. Share and Index CFDs are a separate trading permission.

Trading Example

Opening the position

You purchase 10 lots (200000) EUR.CHF CFDs at $1.16195 for CHF 232,390, which you then hold for 5 days.

Closing the position

CFD Resources

Below are some useful links with more detailed information on IBA’s CFD offering:

Contract Specifications

CFD Product Listings

CFD Commissions

CFD Financing Rates

CFD Margin Requirements

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between IBA Forex CFDs and other forms of forex trading?

IBA Forex CFDs are differentiated mainly by their their exceptionally tight spreads resulting from that IBA a) combines quotation streams from 14 of the world's largest foreign exchange dealers which constitute more than 70% of market share in the global interbank market*. This results in displayed quotes as small as 0.1 PIP, and b) IBA does not mark up the quotes, rather passes through the prices that it receives and charges a separate low commission.

*Source: Euromoney FX survey FX Poll 2016.

IBA Forex CFDs also offer a unique financing model for positions held overnight. IBA uses a pair benchmark rate which is the difference between the benchmark rates for the two underlying currencies. This is in principle similar to the TOM Next rolls used by other brokers, but offers greater stability as benchmark rates generally are less volatile than swap rates.

Please see the Carry Interest section above for a detailed example.

Are there any market data requirements?

The market data for IBA Forex CFDs is the same as for Leverage FX. It is a global permission and free of charge.

Related Articles

• Overview of IBKR issued Share CFDs
• IB Index CFDs - Facts and Q&A
• IB Metal CFDs – Facts and Q&A
• Overview of ASIC CFD Rules Implementation at IBKR (Australia) – Retail Investors Only

The price of the Index CFD is directly related to the price of the exchange-quoted related future. The price-movement of the Index CFD tracks the movement of the related future, although the price levels differ by an adjustment for interest and dividends (fair-value adjustment).

For example (actual quotes):

IBA Index CFD Price Determination: As discussed the IBA Index CFDs track the related future, adjusted for fair value. The resulting synthetic index level is very close to the cash index, but may differ somewhat as explained below.

In the futures market fair value is the equilibrium price for a futures contract. It is the price at which an investor effectively pays the appropriate rate of interest, and is compensated for the dividends he forgoes by holding the future rather than the underlying shares.

The fair value is determined by adjusting the cash index as follows, taking into account the time remaining to expiry:

Cash Index Value + Interest - Dividends = Future at Fair Value

To determine the value of the IB Index CFD, we reverse the process:

Actual Futures Price - Interest + Dividends = IB Index CFD Value

The result is not necessarily the same value as the cash index. This is because the starting point is the actual price of the future, and the future may trade above or below its fair value.

Having established the level for the synthetic index, the actual CFD quotes show spreads and ticks that reflect those of the underlying future.

Low Commissions and Financing Rates: Unlike other Index CFD providers IB charges a transparent commission, rather than widening the spread of the related future. Depending on the index, commission rates are only 0.005% - 0.01%. Overnight financing rates are just benchmark +/- 1.5%.

Flexible Exposure to Major Markets: IB Index CFDs are available for the main US, European and Asia Pacific indices. They can be traded in lots as small as 1X the index level, a fraction of the size of the related futures. And unlike the related futures, they do not need to be rolled over. You can trade all European and US IB Index CFDs from 09:00 - 22:00 CET.

Margin Efficiency: IB Index CFDs are margined at the same low rates as the related future, adjusted for contract size (subject to a minimum of 5%). IB also offers intraday margin rates on Index CFDs at a level consistent with that of the related futures contract. Intraday rates are generally set at 50% of the overnight rate and are offered during a time frame which begins at the start of liquid trading hours and ends 15 minutes before the liquid trading close. A list of the Index CFDs subject to this change and their liquid trading hours is provided in the table below.

Trading requiring margin involves a high degree of risk and may result in a loss of funds greater than the amount you have deposited.

Dividend Adjustment: Based on ordinary dividends for the constituents of each index. Dividends are accrued on the ex-date and settled T + 2.

Corporate Action Adjustments: None for the CFD. Corporate actions are reflected in the index level

Worked Trade Example:

Opening the Position

You purchase 10 IBUS30 CFDs at $23,534.48 for USD 235,344.80, which you then hold for 5 days.

Closing the Position

CFD Resources

Below are some useful links with more detailed information on IB’s CFD offering:

CFD Contract Specifications

CFD Product Listings

CFD Commissions

CFD Financing Rates

CFD Margin Requirements

CFD Corporate Actions

Frequently asked Questions

What Indices are available as CFDs?

The principal indices in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific. Please see CFD Product Listings for more detail.

Do you have CFDs on commodities?

IB does not currently offer Commodity CFDs.

How do you determine your Index CFD quotes?

IB Index CFDs track the related future, adjusted for fair value. It is in effect a synthetic index level that is very close to the cash index, but may differ somewhat as explained below.

In the futures market fair value is the equilibrium price for a futures contract. It is the price at which an investor effectively pays the appropriate rate of interest, and is compensated for the dividends he forgoes by holding the future rather than the underlying shares.

The fair value is determined by adjusting the cash index as follows, taking into account the time remaining to expiry:

Cash Index Value + Interest - Dividends = Future at Fair Value

To determine the value of the IB Index CFD, we reverse the process:

Actual Futures Price - Interest + Dividends = IB Index CFD Value

The result is not necessarily the same value as the cash index. This is because the starting point is the actual price of the future, and the future may trade above or below its fair value.

Having established the level for the synthetic index, the actual CFD quotes show spreads and ticks that reflect those of the underlying future. IB charges a commission rather than widening the spread, enabling a transparent comparison between the returns of the Index CFD and the related future.

How do you determine margins for Index CFDs?

The margins are the same as for the related future, adjusted for size, including lower rates intraday. Please refer to CFD Margin Requirements for more detail.

Are short Index CFDs subject to forced buy-in?

No. As the reference instrument is a future, the index CFD is not affected by stock loan availability.

How do you handle dividends and corporate actions?

The index level itself is adjusted for corporate actions, and no direct adjustments to the CFD are necessary. Index CFDs are however adjusted for dividends as the underlying future is typically based on a price index. The only exception among the currently available IB Index CFDs is Germany 40 (IBDE40), which is based on a total return index.
For an overview please see CFD Corporate Actions.

What do I need to do to start trading CFDs with IB?

You need to set up trading permission for CFDs in Account Management, and agree to the relevant trading disclosures. The trading permission covers both Index and Share CFDs.

Are there any market data requirements?

The market data for IB Index CFDs is free, but you need to subscribe to it for system reasons. It is a global permission (like FX), so you only need to subscribe once. To do this, log into account management, and click through the following tabs: Trade/Configuration/Market Data Subscriptions. Alternatively you can set up an Index CFD in your TWS quote monitor and click the “Market Data Subscription Manager” button that appears on the quote line.

Can I transfer in CFD positions from another broker?

IB does not currently have a facility for transferring Index CFD positions. IB will be glad to facilitate the transfer of Share CFD positions. As the transfer of CFD positions is more complex than is the case for share positions, we generally require the position to be at least the equivalent of USD 100,000.

What account protections apply when trading CFDs with IBA?

CFDs are contracts with IBA as your counterparty, and are not traded on a regulated exchange and are not cleared on a central clearinghouse. Since IBA is the counterparty to your CFD trades, you are exposed to the financial and business risks, including credit risk, associated with dealing with IBA. IBA will handle the client money it receives in accordance
with the rules set out in Part 7.8 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Client Money Rules) and to the extent applicable the ASIC Market Integrity Rules (ASX market) 2010. Where required, IBA will pay such client money into a trust account. Please refer to the IBA CFD Product Disclosure Statement for further detail on risks associated with trading CFDs.

What are the maximum positions I can have in a specific Index CFD?

There is no pre-set limit for position size, but please be aware that trade-size restrictions apply to Index CFDs. Please see the table at the beginning of this document for more detail.

Can I trade CFDs over the phone?

No. In exceptional cases we may agree to process closing orders over the phone, but never opening orders.

Related Articles

• Overview of IBKR issued Share CFDs
• IB Forex CFDs - Facts and Q&A
• IB Metal CFDs – Facts and Q&A
• Overview of ASIC CFD Rules Implementation at IBKR (Australia) – Retail Investors Only