Sebi's risk management measures for derivatives likely to impact volumes

Market players attribute this to sharp drop in several F&O stocks

The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) additional risk management measures for the derivatives market are likely to impact volumes and increase trading costs.

According to brokers, the higher margin requirements could lead to up to a 30 per cent drop in volumes in certain segments, particularly option writing.

Increasing the margin or capital requirements for dealing in the derivatives segment, the market regulator in a circular on Wednesday asked brokers to mandatorily levy ‘initial margin’, ‘exposure margin’ and ‘calendar spread margins’ on their clients.

Brokers already charge initial margin, calculated using software called by Standard Portfolio Analysis of Risk