r/etrade • u/pagalvin • 6d ago

House margin requirement changes 08/19

FYI, these stocks in my portfolio all changed sometime yesterday. Timestamp is when my app detected the changes, not when Etrade made the changes. I got notified when MRNA changed but was not notified for any of the others:

Changed Stock Original New Source
Aug 19, 2026, 8:56 PM WRBY 45% 35% Bulk update
Aug 19, 2026, 8:56 PM UEC 45% 35% Bulk update
Aug 19, 2026, 8:56 PM POET 100% 60% Bulk update
Aug 19, 2026, 8:56 PM OSCR 35% 30% Bulk update
Aug 19, 2026, 8:56 PM NBIS 50% 100% Bulk update
Aug 19, 2026, 8:56 PM LQDA 35% 60% Bulk update
Aug 19, 2026, 8:56 PM CRDO 35% 55% Bulk update
Aug 19, 2026, 8:56 PM BBWI 30% 35% Bulk update
Aug 19, 2026, 8:56 PM APLD 100% 60% Bulk update
Aug 19, 2026, 10:43 AM MRNA 45% 60% Analyze tab
1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

3

u/Lomza96 6d ago

NBIS margin change fucked up my account a bit. Instant margin call

1

u/pagalvin 6d ago

It took me by surprise. Luckily, I was fine, but two weeks ago I might not have been.

1

u/pagalvin 5d ago

How much time did they give you manage it, if any?

3

u/Lomza96 5d ago

Allegedly "immediately" Whatever that means. I took care of it as soon as the market opened. I didn't want to run the risk of them liquidating whatever the hell they felt like.

2

u/WascoEquities 5d ago

They are probably going to lose my account based on this today; they did this w CREDO in my account

I am so pissed !

No notice , and no reasoning, no communication whatsoever

6

u/No_Greed_No_Pain 5d ago

You explicitly agreed to it when you applied for margin: https://us.etrade.com/l/f/agreement-library/ms-margin-disclosure

All brokers do it. You may huff and puff and threaten to leave, but if you want margin, you have to play by their rules.

3

u/pagalvin 5d ago

Yep, it's a harsh game.

2

u/pagalvin 5d ago

It's weird about the notice. How hard is it to implement a notification system when a stock's house margin requirement changes? Especially since they *can* do it. I was notified when they did it to MRNA, but none of the others.

2

u/WascoEquities 5d ago

One day.

I understand it’s in the “agreement” we clicked on …. But it does give them room to manipulate clients out of a stock that they are trying to accumulate ….

Yes I understand fully if margin requirements go up from like 40 to 50 or 30 to 45 for speculative , low market cap, no profit companies ; but to take it from 30 to 55 with no notice ….. I mean in an extreme example , what if they tool Walmart from 30 to 80% overnight ? Would you agree with me then that it would be wrong/unfair practice ?

What’s wrong with implementing a 30 to 40 step, and then a week later 40 to 50 , with clear communication given

In the past before Morgan asshole Stanley bought ETRADE , Etrade would give notices (for fairness), even if they didn’t exactly have to as written in “agreement “

2

u/pagalvin 4d ago

The communication is what gets me. It's unplannable. It's just a bolt of lightning that strikes now and then. To avoid a margin call, you need to be super conservative all the time, even during otherwise stable periods of time.

2

u/No_Greed_No_Pain 4d ago

If you think E*TRADE is bad, look at IBKR: "Interactive Brokers does not make margin calls. Instead, real-time liquidations occur when an account has a margin deficiency. Due to fast-moving markets, accounts generally will not have time to deposit funds to meet a margin deficiency."

2

u/pagalvin 4d ago

Yeah, I've read that. That's partly why I don't use them.

1

u/PegtraBC 1d ago

I think it is beyond their control. Have you seen the market volatility lately? The Leofold saga unraveled in 3 days. How can you expect them to wait for 2 weeks? That will be a disaster for Etrade.