Original margin

Original margin

The margin needed to cover a specific new position. Related: Margin, security deposit (initial).

Initial Margin

The money or securities an investor keeps in a margin account in order to be able to borrow from a brokerage for short sales or other purposes. The initial margin requirement is kept as collateral until the brokerage calls the margin and the client pays back what is owed. FINRA requires that the initial margin requirement kept must be at least 25% of the amount borrowed, while some brokerages have initial margin requirements of up to 50%.