Prime brokers raise capital requirements

Major prime broker banks are raising their capital requirements and jettisoning smaller clients as the cost of credit provision is repriced in the wake of the Swiss National Bank's (SNB) decision to pull its minimum exchange rate, wreaking havoc on the industry.

One US fund was told by its banks the minimum balance sheet size they would accept. This was $25 million at Citi – a significant increase on what the US bank accepted previously – while Deutsche Bank quoted a figure almost double that