Dynamic margin optimization

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

In response to the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–2009, by now, most of the financial transactions must be cleared through central counterparties operating a dynamic margin setting mechanism. High margin calls can reduce counterparty risk in a turbulent market, but at the same time, increase liquidity risk and escalate systemic risk. In this paper, we construct a theoretical model to address this challenge, deriving an optimal margin setting policy framed as a stochastic control problem. Our analysis reveals that an adaptive, countercyclical approach is superior to a purely risk-sensitive strategy, primarily by minimizing the expected loss for the clearing institution.