Interactive Brokers Fined USD84 Million for Violations During Negative Oil Prices

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that Interactive Brokers LLC will pay USD84 million in penalties for failing to process its customer accounts during the April 2020 oil crash. Oil futures plunged into negative territory for the first time in April 2020 when traders paid potential buyers up to USD40 a barrel to take oil that they could not accept for delivery under the expiring May futures contract. The CFTC order stated that Interactive Brokers had been notified of the possibility of negative oil futures prices, but the company had not prepared its trading system to recognize negative prices and calculate the required margin.