Margin Requirements

Transactions conducted in the SWFX marketplace may be done on a margin trading basis, enabling a client to execute trades larger than the deposit, amplifying price movement effect. The multi-instrument exposure of the account is limited by the total trading line which is calculated by multiplying the Equity of the account by the leverage agreed with Dukascopy Bank SA. By default the initial leverage for regular trading hours is set to 1:100, which allows to increase exposure up to a 100 times the amount of the equity, but can be set up to 1:200 by request (restrictions may apply).

The initial leverage of the account can be adjusted to different levels (e.g. 1:50 or 1:20) which are predefined by Dukascopy Bank SA and the client. The margin necessary to increase the exposure is computed at trade initiation, and the amount of Free and Used Margin is updated in real time on the trading platform.

Due to specific trading conditions several instruments have higher margin requirements (lower leverage). See the widget below.

  1. The minimum margin requirements will differ if the initial leverage is changed.
  2. See section "Over-the-weekend leverage" for additional information about weekend leverage.
  3. The lower leverages remain in place regardless of the client's requests for leverage increase.
  4. If equity for the self trade account is less than CHF 20 or equivalent in foreign currency, the account may be blocked by Dukascopy Bank.

Maximum available leverage for weekends and other off-market days equals to the lowest value of the over-the-weekend leverage (1:30 for the accounts with top leverage 1:100 and 1:60 for the accounts with top leverage 1:200) or to special margin requirements of the instrument or trading account.

If equity for the self-trader's account is less than CHF 20 or equivalent in foreign currency, the account may be blocked by Dukascopy Bank.

  • In order to protect clients from incurring liability above their equity and protect Dukascopy Bank SA from associated risks, the following minimum margin policy applies: The minimum equity requirement for the self-trading account is 20 CHF. For accounts with different base currency the minimum amount of equity is calculated at the exchange rate of the latest settlement. All open positions may be closed and the account may be blocked should the equity on the account reach the minimum margin requirement.

    The minimum margin required to open a position depends on the desired leverage, instrument and current market prices.

  • The Use of Leverage is an indicator showing how much of the collateral is currently used by the exposure on the trading account. It is displayed in percentage in real-time and calculated as follows:

    Use of leverage
    =
    Used Margin*
    Equity
    x
    100%
    • *Equals to the exposure divided by leverage.

    Example

    Position of 1 mio EUR/USD 1.2000
    Exposure on the account USD 1'200'000
    Profit and losses 0
    Leverage authorized for the account 1:20
    Equity USD 100'000

    Used Margin = Exposure on the account / Leverage = USD 1'200'000 / 20 = USD 60'000
    Use of leverage = Used Margin / Equity = 60'000 / 100'000 = 60%

  • Margin call (Use of leverage > 100%) means a situation where the margin requirements do not allow the client to increase exposure on his account. The client may only execute trades to reduce exposure, by closing or hedging the existing net positions. Despite the margin call level being reached, the positions will not be closed automatically. The automated system will cancel all placed bid/offer orders that can increase the exposure.

    Margin cut or cut-off level (Use of leverage ≥ 200%). If the Use of Leverage reaches or exceeds 200%, Dukascopy Bank has the right (but not the obligation) to fully or partially reduce the client's exposure by closing existing positions and/or by opening new positions in the opposite direction. Usually the system automatically reduces exposure so that the Use of Leverage is brought to approximately 100%. However, traders can select to fully close all open positions in case of a margin cut.

    Use of leverage Description
    0% No exposure
    < 100% Normal status
    ≥ 100% Margin call: trader is not able to increase exposure on the account if the Use of leverage is more than 100%
    ≥ 200% Margin cut: typically system will open hedging positions in the opposite direction for all positions which contribute to exposure on the account. The Use of leverage will be decreased to 100% or less.
  • Maximum available leverage for the weekends and other market closure days is set to 1:30 (1:60 for accounts with maximum leverage 1:200). The purpose of this policy is to mitigate risks caused by potential price gaps during market closure, which may seriously threaten invested funds.

    Standard algorithm: Over-the-weekend trading conditions are effective starting 3-4 hours before each market closure (weekend, holidays, etc) until re-opening of the market. For usual Friday night closure, over-the-weekend conditions would become effective at 18:00 GMT, which may cause the Use Of Leverage to increase if there is a net exposure. Regardless of the over-the-weekend margin conditions, the general execution mechanisms of the margin call and margin cut remain the same. That is, if the amount of equity on the account is not sufficient to support existing positions with a leverage of 1:30, the margin cut procedure will be applied to the account (see paragraph Margin Call and Margin Cut).

  • The maximum net exposure of each currency pair or CFD instrument is calculated as an aggregate figure based on all sub-accounts of the client.

    Clients may request to waive/increase the maximum exposure limit. In this case the account leverage will be reduced to 1:20 (1:10 over-the-weekend).

    The exact limits are specified in the tables below:

    • Instrument Maximum exposure in millions of primary currency
      All currency pairs
      (except the pairs in the next rows)
      15
      HKD/JPY, USD/CNH and USD/MXN 5
      EUR/PLN, TRY/JPY, USD/PLN, CAD/HKD, EUR/CZK, EUR/DKK, EUR/HKD, EUR/HUF, EUR/TRY, USD/CZK, USD/DKK, USD/HKD, USD/HUF, USD/ILS, USD/RON, USD/THB and USD/TRY 1
    • Instrument Maximum exposure in contracts (for CFDs) /
      Oz (for precious metals) / USD (for crypto)
      BRENT.CMD/USD 325
      LIGHT.CMD/USD 325
      GAS.CMD/USD 4'500
      DIESEL.CMD/USD 900
      COFFEE.CMD/USX 940'000
      COCOA.CMD/USD 225
      SUGAR.CMD/USD 1'430
      COTTON.CMD/USX 685'000
      OJUICE.CMD/USX 410'000
      SOYBEAN.CMD/USX 223'500
      COPPER.CMD/USD 1 mio USD equivalent
      XPT.CMD/USD 315
      XPD.CMD/USD 90
      USA500.IDX/USD 1'000
      USATECH.IDX/USD 300
      USA30.IDX/USD 100
      USSC2000.IDX/USD 2'000
      VOL.IDX/USD 100'000 USD equivalent
      SOA.IDX/ZAR 2'000'000 USD equivalent
      DEU.IDX/EUR 250
      GBR.IDX/GBP 350
      FRA.IDX/EUR 500
      AUS.IDX/AUD 750
      JPN.IDX/JPY 20'000
      HKG.IDX/HKD 1'000
      CHE.IDX/CHF 350
      ESP.IDX/EUR 300
      EUS.IDX/EUR 900
      XAU/USD 1'500
      XAG/USD 40'000
      BTC/USD 100'000 USD equivalent
      ETH/USD 100'000 USD equivalent
      LTC/USD 50'000 USD equivalent
      BCH/USD 50'000 USD equivalent
      XLM/USD 50'000 USD equivalent
      DSH/USD 30'000 USD equivalent
      EOS/USD 30'000 USD equivalent
      TRX/USD 30'000 USD equivalent
      ADA/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      UNI/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      LNK/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      MAT/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      AVE/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      MKR/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      CMP/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      ENJ/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      YFI/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      BAT/USD30'000 USD equivalent
      CHI.IDX/USD 200
      DOLLAR.IDX/USD 25'000
      NLD.IDX/EUR 4'550
      SGD.IDX/SGD 11'220
      PLN.IDX/PLN 1'545
      BUND.TR/EUR 10'000
      USTBOND.TR/USD 10'000
      UKGILT.TR/GBP 10'000

      Exceptions may apply for some clients or some instruments. Information on applicable maximum net exposure limits is available in trading reports section "CFD Instruments" subsection "Maximum Exposure".

    • Maximum exposure per single stock CFD is 100'000 USD or equivalent in other currencies. Clients may request to increase maximum exposure to 250'000 USD, in this case leverage will be reduced to 1:2 from default setting of 1:10. Clients may request to increase leverage to 1:20. In this case maximum exposure per CFD will be 50'000 USD. Over-the-weekend leverage reduction rules do not apply to single stock CFDs.

      Market Maximum exposure
      for a share CFD
      Austria 100'000 EUR
      Belgium 100'000 EUR
      Denmark 750'000 DKK
      Finland 100'000 EUR
      France 100'000 EUR
      Germany 100'000 EUR
      Hong Kong 780'000 HKD
      Italy 100'000 EUR
      Ireland 100'000 EUR
      Japan 10'000'000 JPY
      Mexico 100'000 USD equivalent
      Netherlands 100'000 EUR
      Norway 900'000 NOK
      Portugal 100'000 EUR
      Spain 100'000 EUR
      Sweden 950'000 SEK
      Switzerland 100'000 CHF
      UK 90'000 GBP
      US 100'000 USD
  • Trading on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. It is highly recommended to maintain the Use of Leverage at normal levels. The client must always keep in mind that leverage increases potential loss, as well as potential profit, and invested funds can quickly suffer losses in situations where the market prices exhibit strong volatility, potentially creating an adverse environment for the highly leveraged participant. The client shall be solely responsible for maintaining sufficient margin in relation to the existing positions.

To learn more about Dukascopy Bank CFD / Forex trading platform, SWFX and other trading related information,
please call us or make callback request.
For further information regarding potential cooperation,
please call us or make callback request.
To learn more about Dukascopy Bank Binary Options / Forex trading platform, SWFX and other trading related information,
please call us or make callback request.
To learn more about Dukascopy Bank CFD / Forex trading platform, SWFX and other trading related information,
please call us or make callback request.
To learn more about Crypto Trading / CFD / Forex trading platform, SWFX and other trading related information,
please call us or make callback request.
To learn more about Business Introducer and other trading related information,
please call us or make callback request.
For further information regarding potential cooperation,
please call us or make callback request.