A CCP may allow offsets or reductions in the required margin across the financial instruments that it clears if the price risk of one financial instrument or a set of financial instruments is significantly and reliably correlated, or based on equivalent statistical parameter of dependence, with the price risk of other financial instruments.

The CCP shall document its approach on portfolio margining and it shall at least provide that the correlation, or an equivalent statistical parameter of dependence, between two or more financial instruments cleared is shown to be reliable over the lookback period calculated in accordance with Article 25 and demonstrates resilience during stressed historical or hypothetical scenarios. The CCP shall demonstrate the existence of an economic rationale for the price relation.

All financial instruments to which portfolio margining is applied shall be covered by the same default fund. By way of derogation, if a CCP can demonstrate in advance to its competent authority and to its clearing members how potential losses would be allocated among different default funds and has set out the necessary provisions in its rules, portfolio margining may be applied to financial instruments covered by different default funds.

Where portfolio margining covers multiple instruments, the amount of margin reductions shall be no greater than 80 % of the difference between the sum of the margins for each product calculated on an individual basis and the margin calculated based on a combined estimation of the exposure for the combined portfolio. Where the CCP is not exposed to any potential risk from the margin reduction, it may apply a reduction of up to 100 % of that difference.

The margin reductions related to portfolio margining shall be subject to a sound stress test programme in accordance with Chapter XII.