The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved a package of measures that will allow certain customers to cross‑margin cash U.S. Treasury securities and related Treasury futures. The step marks another stage in the rollout of the US Treasury clearing framework and aims to support liquidity and resilience in the market.
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The SEC issued a conditional exemptive order that permits customer cross‑margining between cash Treasury positions cleared at a registered clearing agency and Treasury futures positions cleared at a registered derivatives clearing Clearing Clearing is a general term that simply means many different things depending on the subject and related industry. Most commonly, this refers to the reciprocal exchange between banks of checks and drafts, and the settlement of the differences, or the total of claims settled at a clearinghouse. In finance and banking, the word clearing has different meanings depending on the more specific business model. Moving checks from the bank where they were deposited to the bank on which they were drawn. Th Clearing is a general term that simply means many different things depending on the subject and related industry. Most commonly, this refers to the reciprocal exchange between banks of checks and drafts, and the settlement of the differences, or the total of claims settled at a clearinghouse. In finance and banking, the word clearing has different meanings depending on the more specific business model. Moving checks from the bank where they were deposited to the bank on which they were drawn. Th Read this Term organization.
The relief applies to a broker‑dealer that also registers as a futures commission merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and acts as a joint clearing member of both clearing entities. Under the order, such firms may offer cross‑margining to eligible customers in a futures account, provided they comply with the conditions of the exemption from the broker‑dealer customer protection rule.
NEW: SEC Approves Exemptive Order and Proposed Rule Change to Permit Customer Cross-Margining in the U.S. Treasury Market
Read more: https://t.co/jTiN7BZgqZ
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) April 15, 2026
The SEC’s move matters for FX and CFDs mainly through liquidity and funding channels rather than through direct rule changes: by allowing cross‑margining between cash Treasuries and Treasury futures, regulators lower collateral and funding costs for major macro and basis traders.
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This can support more stable risk‑taking and liquidity in U.S. rates, a core anchor for global pricing in FX and index underlyings. It also reduces the chance of margin‑driven shocks spilling over into bank and non‑bank liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term provision to FX and CFD markets.
It allows these firms to recognize offsetting risk between matched cash and futures Treasury positions in defined customer portfolios while remaining within the regulatory safeguards set out in the exemptive order.
FICC–CME Agreement Extends Cross-Margining to Clients
Separately, the SEC approved a proposed rule change from the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC). The change allows FICC to enter into a Third Amended and Restated Cross‑Margining Agreement with Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME) and to incorporate that agreement into the rules of FICC’s Government Securities Division, together with related rule amendments.
The new agreement extends cross‑margining to positions cleared and carried for customers by a dually registered broker‑dealer and FCM that is a common member of FICC and CME. Until now, only clearing members’ proprietary positions could be cross‑margined between Treasury futures at CME and cash Treasuries at FICC.
“Today’s issuance of orders completes another step in the implementation of Treasury clearing,” said SEC Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda, who has led the SEC’s work in this area. “It advances the goal of both the SEC and the CFTC to unlock additional liquidity and helps ensure the market for U.S. Treasury securities remains resilient.”
The SEC said the exemptive order and the order approving the rule change will appear on SEC.gov before publication in the Federal Register. A related CFTC exemptive order will also be available on CFTC.gov and in the Federal Register.
