Patent ID: 7930245

Claim:
A computer implemented method for determining a minimum margin requirement for a market participant, the method comprising: maintaining, by a first processor associated with at least two exchanges, an inter-exchange account for the market participant, the inter-exchange account reflecting a plurality of positions resulting from one or more trades executed on either of the at least two exchanges for one or more products available therefrom, the inter-exchange account being maintained separately from an intra-exchange account for the market participant, maintained by one of the at least two exchanges, exclusively reflecting a plurality of positions resulting from trades executed on that exchange for one or more products available therefrom; determining, by a second processor, an inter-account net position based on the plurality of positions reflected in the intra-exchange account and un-netted positions remaining after a first intra-account net position has been determined, by the second processor, based solely on the plurality of positions reflected in the inter-exchange account; establishing, by one or more of the first or second processors, a relationship between the at least two exchanges; and determining, by one or more of the first or second processors, the minimum margin requirement for the market participant based on the inter-account and first intra-account net positions and the relationship.