UK basic liquid assets requirement
One third of your fixed overheads requirement, plus 1.6% of any guarantees you have given clients. The formula matches the EU one; what does not match is the cap on trade receivables, which under MIFIDPRU bites against the fixed-overheads component alone and cannot be used against the guarantee part at all.
MIFIDPRU 6.2.1R · core liquid assets 6.3 · receivables 6.3.3R · 50% haircut · nothing stored
Under IFR Article 43(3) the receivable cap is one third of the whole requirement, not of the FOR component. EU liquidity requirement →
Work out your requirement
Runs in your browser · nothing uploadedYou need your fixed overheads requirement first — one quarter of relevant expenditure, calculated under MIFIDPRU 4.5. The requirement is one third of the FOR, so a firm bound by its K-factors still calculates liquidity from the FOR rather than from its own funds requirement.
The requirement
MIFIDPRU 6.2.1RCore liquid assets held
MIFIDPRU 6.3.1R · unencumbered, not belonging to a clientThe requirement applies at all times, not at reporting dates. The UK capital module keeps the FOR, the own funds requirement and the basic liquid assets requirement current together — with free monitoring to start.
Create free account →Same formula, different receivable cap
A firm running one model across both regimes usually gets the requirement right and the receivable treatment wrong. The requirement is worded almost identically; the constraints on what meets it are not.
One third plus 1.6%
Core liquid assets equal to one third of the fixed overheads requirement plus 1.6% of the total guarantees provided to clients. Roughly a month of fixed costs, held continuously rather than measured at a date.
Against the FOR part only
Under MIFIDPRU 6.3.3R(3) receivables may account for no more than one third of the requirement based upon the fixed overheads requirement. That is one third of one third of the FOR — a ninth of the FOR — not one third of the whole requirement.
Never against guarantees
MIFIDPRU 6.3.3R(4) is explicit: receivables may not be used to meet the guarantee requirement. A firm with large guarantees therefore gains nothing from receivables against that part, however much it holds.
Permission-dependent
Only an SNI firm, or a MIFIDPRU investment firm without permission to deal on own account or to underwrite or place financial instruments on a firm commitment basis. With either permission, receivables are out entirely.
Rules reviewed 21 August 2026 · MIFIDPRU 6.2.1R and 6.2.2R · MIFIDPRU 6.3.1R, 6.3.3R, 6.3.4R and 6.3.5R · FOR under MIFIDPRU 4.5
What this calculator does
It computes the requirement, applies the receivable constraints in the right order, and tells you whether what you have entered covers it.
It doesCompute and constrain
- Splits the requirement into its fixed-overheads and guarantee components, because the constraints differ between them.
- Applies the 50% haircut and the one-third-of-the-FOR-component cap to trade receivables.
- Excludes receivables from meeting the guarantee component, as MIFIDPRU 6.3.3R(4) requires.
- Removes receivables entirely where the firm's permissions rule them out.
- Deducts encumbered and client assets in full.
- Shows both readings of the cap-and-haircut ordering, and uses the conservative one.
It does notClassify your assets
- Decide whether a given asset falls within MIFIDPRU 6.3.1R. That is the substantive judgement.
- Apply the currency proportionality caps in MIFIDPRU 6.3.4R(2).
- Calculate your fixed overheads requirement. Use the FOR calculation under MIFIDPRU 4.5.
- Assess your liquid assets threshold requirement under MIFIDPRU 7, which can be higher.
- Account for a group liquidity exemption granted under MIFIDPRU 2.3.2R(1).
- Produce anything you can submit. It is a check, not a return.
MIFIDPRU 7 can require more than this
The basic liquid assets requirement is a floor. A firm's liquid assets threshold requirement, assessed through the ICARA process, may be higher — and it is the higher figure that has to be met. Treat this calculation as the starting point of that assessment, not its conclusion.
Nothing you enter here leaves your browser
Every figure is evaluated on your own machine. Nothing is sent to REGREP, written to a log, saved to a database, or passed to any analytics tool.
That is deliberate. Your overheads and your liquidity position are not something we want to hold.
About the basic liquid assets requirement
Is it one third of the FOR or of the own funds requirement?
Of the fixed overheads requirement. A firm whose own funds requirement is set by its K-factors or by its permanent minimum requirement still calculates liquidity from the FOR, which is one quarter of relevant expenditure under MIFIDPRU 4.5. The two figures are unrelated for this purpose.
How should guarantees be measured?
Either the total value outstanding at the end of each business day, or an average value over an appropriate period, updated at regular and appropriate intervals. The averaging option exists to smooth a figure that moves daily; an appropriate period is one that produces an average representative of the underlying liquidity risk.
What is the receivable cap, exactly?
Receivables may account for no more than one third of the requirement based upon the fixed overheads requirement. Since that component is itself one third of the FOR, the cap works out at one ninth of the FOR. It is not one third of the total requirement, and a model built for the EU regime will usually get this wrong where guarantees are present.
Does the cap apply before or after the 50% haircut?
The rule does not say. Applying the cap to the gross figure and then halving it is the conservative reading; halving first and then capping is the permissive one. This tool shows both and uses the conservative figure. Where the two diverge materially, the difference is worth raising rather than assuming.
Can client money count?
No. An asset that belongs to a client is excluded, and it can belong to a client even where it is held in the firm's own name — money held under the client asset rules is the obvious case. Encumbered assets are excluded on the same footing, including anything pledged as security or subject to a restriction affecting the firm's ability to liquidate or transfer it.
What about assets in another currency?
Where relevant expenditure or guarantees are incurred in a currency other than sterling, equivalent assets in that currency may count — but only up to the proportion of expenditure or guarantees incurred in it. The cap is applied separately to each of the two components. This tool does not model that; enter sterling-equivalent figures you have already tested against MIFIDPRU 6.3.4R(2).
A requirement met at a reporting date is not a requirement met.
Create a free account and keep the FOR, own funds and liquidity positions current together, with the workings retained for your ICARA file.
No card required · free tier on core modules · nothing stored from this tool