Optimal clearing margin, capital and price limits for futures clearinghouses

We provide a model for a futures clearinghouse to use for setting optimal levels of clearing margin, capital and price limits, which minimizes the costs to clearing firms and simultaneously protects the clearinghouse from default by clearing firms. We show how to estimate the capital requirement, which supports the clearinghouse’s residual default risk that is not covered by the clearing margin. We apply our model to the Winnipeg Commodity …