FX: South Korea raises retail margins

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South Korea’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission has decided to increase margin requirements on retail FX trading from 2% to 5%. The move, effective on September 1, is largely as a result of the high rate of losses among retail investors. The FSC says that the vast majority – more than 90% – of retail accounts incurred losses.

“To prevent the equivalent of the ‘Mrs Watanabe syndrome’ in Japan from taking hold in Korea, the financial supervisory authority will raise domestic investors’ awareness of FX margin trading to ensure the transparency of the market,” the FSC states.