Division of Trading and Markets: Frequently Asked Questions – Treasury Clearing and Rule 15c3-3a
Responses to Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Financial Responsibility Requirements as Applied to Cleared U.S. Treasury Securities (August 6, 2025)
The Division of Trading and Markets (“Division”), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”), has prepared the following responses to questions about the financial responsibility requirements as applied to cleared U.S. Treasury securities. These responses represent the views of the staff of the Division. They are not a rule, regulation, or statement of the Commission. The Commission has neither approved nor disapproved this content. These responses, like all staff statements, have no legal force or effect: they do not alter or amend applicable law, and they create no new or additional obligations for any person.
The staff may update these questions and answers periodically. In each update, the questions added after publication of the last version will be marked with “MODIFIED” or “NEW.”
Notice pursuant to Rule 15c3-3a, Note H(b)(3) Regarding Application of the Reserve Formulas with Respect to Cleared U.S. Treasury Securities
Question 1: Under Note H(b)(3) to Rule 15c3-3a, has the Commission: (1) approved rules of a qualified clearing agency that meet the conditions of Note H; and (2) published (and not subsequently withdrawn) a notice that broker-dealers may include a debit in the customer reserve formula when depositing cash, U.S. Treasury securities, and/or qualified customer securities to meet a margin requirement of the qualified clearing agency resulting from positions in U.S. Treasury securities of the customers of the broker-dealer?
Answer: Yes. FICC Rule Change - On November 21, 2024, the Division, pursuant to delegated authority, approved proposed rule change File No. SR-FICC-2024-007 (“FICC Rule Change”) filed by the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (“FICC”).[1] The FICC Rule Change, among other things, modified FICC’s Government Securities Division Rulebook to address the conditions of Note H set forth in Rule 15c3-3a.[2]
FICC Note H Notice - On November 25, 2024, the Commission published a notice that broker-dealers may include a debit in their customer and/or PAB reserve computations when depositing cash, U.S. Treasury securities, and/or qualified customer securities to meet a margin requirement of FICC resulting from positions in U.S. Treasury securities of the customers of the broker-dealer.[3]
Credits in Customer Reserve Formula Related to Item 15 Debit[4]
Question 2: Where does a broker-dealer include customer cash and/or securities delivered by a customer to the broker-dealer that is posted by the broker-dealer to a qualified clearing agency to meet a margin requirement resulting from a customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at the qualified clearing agency as a credit in the customer reserve formula?
Answer: Cash delivered by a customer to a broker-dealer that is posted by the broker-dealer to a qualified clearing agency will need to be included in Item 1 (Free credit balances and other credit balances in customers’ security accounts) to the customer reserve formula.[5] In addition, as part of the Treasury Clearing Release, the Commission amended Note B to Item 2 of Rule 15c3-3a to instruct broker-dealers to include as a credit in Item 2 the market value of customers’ securities on deposit at a “qualified clearing agency” as defined in Note H.[6]
Prefunding Customer Margin Requirements with Cash or U.S. Treasury Securities Owned by the Broker-Dealer
Question 3: Can a broker-dealer deliver cash (in addition to U.S. Treasury securities owned by the broker-dealer) to a qualified clearing agency to meet a margin requirement resulting from a customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at the qualified clearing agency if it complies with the conditions of Note H(b)(1)(iii)(A) through (C) of Rule 15c3-3a?
Answer: Staff would not object if a broker-dealer delivers cash (in addition to U.S. Treasury securities owned by the broker-dealer) to a qualified clearing agency to meet a margin requirement resulting from a customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at the qualified clearing agency provided that the broker-dealer meets the conditions of Note H(b)(1)(iii)(A) through (C) of Rule 15c3-3a.[7]
Question 4: If a broker-dealer delivers cash or U.S. Treasury securities owned by the broker-dealer to a qualified clearing agency to prefund a customer margin requirement under Note H(b)(1)(iii) to Rule 15c3-3a, can a broker-dealer include an Item 15 debit in the customer reserve formula under Rule 15c3-3a for the amount of the margin requirement from the qualified clearing agency with no corresponding credit on Day 1 of the prefunding (i.e., where the customer has not yet provided collateral to the broker-dealer under Note H(b)(1)(iii)(C))?
Answer: Yes. On Day 1 of the prefunding, a broker-dealer may include an Item 15 debit in the customer reserve formula under Rule 15c3-3a for the amount of the margin requirement from the qualified clearing agency with no corresponding credit if: (1) the broker-dealer has delivered cash or U.S. Treasury securities to temporarily prefund a customer’s margin requirement and calls for margin from the customer under the conditions of Note H(b)(1)(iii)(A) and (B), respectively; and (2) the customer has not yet provided collateral to the broker-dealer under Note H(b)(1)(iii)(C), which requires a broker-dealer to receive a sufficient amount of collateral to meet the margin requirement by the close of the next business day after the margin requirement arose (i.e., Day 2). See also Question 2.
Use of Customers’ Securities to Meet a Margin Requirement
Question 5: Can a broker-dealer deliver securities that would otherwise need to be treated as fully paid or excess margin securities in a customer’s securities account to meet a margin requirement resulting from the customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at a qualified clearing agency under the requirements of Note H to Rule 15c3-3a?
Answer: Yes, a broker-dealer can deliver securities that would otherwise need to be treated as fully paid or excess margin securities in a customer’s securities account to meet a margin requirement resulting from the customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at a qualified clearing agency under the requirements of Note H to Rule 15c3-3a.[8] See also Question 2.
Excess Margin Collateral
Question 6: Can a broker-dealer include an Item 15 debit in the customer reserve formula for excess margin collateral held at a qualified clearing agency resulting from a customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at a qualified clearing agency?
Answer: No, the Item 15 debit is limited to margin required and on deposit at the qualified clearing agency. Moreover, because the debit is limited to margin required and on deposit at the qualified clearing agency, the broker-dealer has an incentive to obtain the prompt return of excess margin collateral[9] held by the qualified clearing agency that is in the form of securities. Specifically, the amount of the excess margin would remain a credit in the customer reserve formula with no offsetting debit if the excess margin amount is no longer required by the qualified clearing agency.[10]
Mark-to-Market or Variation Margin Payments
Question 7: Is cash a customer delivers to a broker-dealer to meet a mark-to-market or variation margin payment at a qualified clearing agency resulting from a customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at a qualified clearing agency subject to the reserve formula requirements of Rule 15c3-3?
Answer: No. The cash a customer delivers to a broker-dealer to meet a mark-to-market or variation margin payment resulting from a customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at a qualified clearing agency need not be considered a credit item in the customer reserve formula under Rule 15c3-3, because a broker-dealer is not required to return these payments to a customer.[11] Any cash in excess of a mark-to-market or variation margin amount that a broker-dealer owes a customer would be subject to the reserve formula requirements of Rule 15c3-3.
Customers Borrowing Against Other Customer Collateral to Meet a Margin Requirement of a Qualified Clearing Agency
Question 8: Can a broker-dealer extend credit to a customer in the form of cash collateralized by margin securities in the customer’s account to fund a customer’s margin requirement resulting from a customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at a qualified clearing agency under Note H(b)(1)(i) to Rule 15c3-3a, and recognize both an Item 15 and Item 10 debit (i.e., debit balances in customers’ cash and margin accounts excluding unsecured accounts and accounts doubtful of collection) in the customer reserve formula under Rule 15c3-3a, as applicable?
Answer: Yes, a broker-dealer may extend credit to a customer in the form of cash collateralized by margin securities in the customer’s account to fund the customer’s margin requirement at a qualified clearing agency resulting from the customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at a qualified clearing agency under Note H(b)(1)(i) to Rule 15c3-3a. In addition, a broker-dealer may recognize both an Item 15[12] and Item 10[13] debit in the customer reserve formula under Rule 15c3-3a, as applicable, for these two separate transactions, provided the broker-dealer is in compliance with the conditions of Note H to Item 15 of Rule 15c3-3a and other requirements of Rule 15c3-3a.[14]
PAB Account Holders and the PAB Reserve Formula
Question 9: Do the FAQs apply to a broker-dealer’s PAB account holders and PAB reserve formula, as applicable?
Answer: Yes, a broker-dealer may apply the FAQs above to its PAB account holders and PAB reserve formula, as applicable.[15]
[1] See Order Approving Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Partial Amendment No. 1, to Modify the GSD Rules (i) Regarding the Separate Calculation, Collection and Holding of Margin for Proprietary Transactions and That for Indirect Participant Transactions, and (ii) to Address the Conditions of Note H to Rule 15c3-3a, Exchange Act Release No. 101695 (Nov. 21, 2024), 89 FR 93763 (Nov. 27, 2024), available at https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/ficc/2024/34-101695.pdf.
[2] See id.
[3] See Notice pursuant to Rule 15c3-3a, Note H(b)(3) Regarding Application of the Customer Protection Rule Reserve Computations with Respect to U.S. Treasury Securities, Exchange Act Release No. 101729 (Nov. 25, 2024), 89 FR 94801 (Nov. 29, 2024) (“Note H Notice”), available at https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/other/2024/34-101729.pdf. The FICC Rule Change was implemented on March 24, 2025.
[4] The Item 15 debit is margin required and on deposit with a clearing agency registered with the Commission under section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 resulting from the following types of transactions in U.S. Treasury securities in customer accounts that have been cleared, settled, and novated by the clearing agency: (1) purchases and sales of U.S. Treasury securities; and (2) U.S. Treasury securities repurchase, and reverse repurchase agreements. 17 CFR 240.15c3-3a.
[5] See Standards for Covered Clearing Agencies for U.S. Treasury Securities and Application of the Broker-Dealer Customer Protection Rule With Respect to U.S. Treasury Securities, Exchange Act Release No. 99149 (Dec. 13, 2023), 89 FR 2714, 2761 (Jan. 16, 2024) (“Treasury Clearing Release”), available at https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/2025/02/s7-23-22#34-102487final.
[6] See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2761.
[7] See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2763.
[8] See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2765 (stating the limitations in Note H are designed to restrict the broker-dealer’s ability to use the customer cash and securities—and thereby protect them—given that these customer assets generally otherwise would need to be treated as a free credit balance or fully paid securities in the customer’s securities account).
[9] Excess margin collateral may include securities that would otherwise need to be treated as fully paid or excess margin securities in a customer’s securities account. See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2765 and 2767.
[10] See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2767.
[11] For example, changes in the value of securities when they are marked to market are included in the Funds-Only Settlement Amounts under FICC Rule 13. These payments are settlement amounts (rather than a collateral payment under FICC Rule 4) and are final. See FICC Rule 13, Section 6(d).
[12] The Item 15 debit represents the amount of margin required and on deposit at a qualified clearing agency resulting from a customer’s U.S. Treasury securities positions cleared, settled, and novated at the qualified clearing agency. See Rule 15c3-3a, Item 15 and Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2761.
[13] The Item 10 debit represents the margin loan in the form of cash collateralized by margin securities in the customer’s securities account. See Rule 15c3-3a, Item 10.
[14] Broker-dealers also must include applicable credits in the customer reserve formula under Rule 15c3-3a, such as credits for cash delivered by a customer to the broker-dealer to be posted to a qualified clearing agency or credits related to the broker-dealer’s use of customer margin securities to borrow funds or execute a securities loan transaction. See e.g., Rule 15c3-3a, Items 1-3 and Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2761 (discussing credit items in the customer reserve formula).
[15] See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2768 (discussing the amendment to Note 9 to Rule 15c3-3a which clarifies that the conditions set forth in new Note H with respect to including a debit in the non-PAB customer reserve computation would apply to the PAB reserve computation as well). See also Rule 15c3-3a, Note 1 (stating that broker-dealers should use the customer reserve formula for the purposes of computing the PAB reserve requirement, except that references to “accounts,” “customer accounts,” or “customers” will be treated as references to PAB accounts).
Last Reviewed or Updated: Aug. 6, 2025