Independent variable

A paper detailing alternative approaches to posting independent amount is expected to be jointly published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the Managed Funds Association and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association by the end of the year. What methods are likely to be prescribed and how will they work in practice? Matt Cameron reports

Nearly 15 months after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, former clients are still trying to claw back assets they had transferred to the now-defunct broker-dealer. Many are hedge funds, which have been wrangling with the bankrupt estate’s administrators over collateral known as independent amount (also known as initial margin), an additional cushion of collateral in excess of the market value of the underlying trades, designed to offer extra protection to the dealer in the event of the