South Korea Weighs 20% Cap on Retail Single-Stock Leverage

South Korean financial regulators said they are prepared to roll out additional curbs, including limits on individual investors, if signs of overheating in leveraged single-stock products do not cool. The measure now under review would cap retail leveraged exposure in a single stock at 20% of an investor's total financial investments. According to previously released official statistics cited by journalists, as of July 13 the cumulative amount of forced liquidations in July had reached KRW 344.2 billion (about RMB 1.57 billion). More than 1.2 million leveraged retail accounts triggered margin-call thresholds, and roughly 320,000 to 360,000 of those accounts were fully liquidated by brokers, with some investors left owing money to their brokers. (Cailianpress)