Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• MARGIN REQUIREMENT
  
  The margin requirement is the minimum amount the Federal Reserve Board, in Regulation T, requires you to deposit in a margin account before you can trade through that account. Currently this minimum, or initial margin, is $2,000, or 50% of the purchase price of securities you buy on margin, or 50% of the amount that you receive for selling securities short. In addition, there'sa minimum maintenance requirement, typically 25% to 30% of the market value of the securities in the account, set by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), and the individual brokerage firms.
  
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