Japanese forex broker FXTF has acknowledged a system configuration error that caused its MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform to conduct a daily margin recalculation and account maintenance-ratio assessment approximately two hours ahead of schedule on November 2, 2026.
The broker confirmed that the assessment took place at 1:30 p.m. Japan Standard Time (JST), instead of the usual window between 3:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. During that scheduled window, FXTF normally conducts a roughly one-minute check to determine whether trading accounts maintain sufficient margin.
The calculation went ahead, just at the wrong hour.
FXTF attributed the incident to an error in its system settings and apologized to customers for conducting the assessment outside its published timetable. The company said it would review its system configuration and management procedures to prevent a similar occurence.
The disclosure raises a specific concern about how an incorrectly timed margin assessment could affect leveraged positions. FXTF’s published trading rules apply different automatic liquidation thresholds during the daily assessment and at other times.
The November 2 announcement did not disclose whether any customer positions were actually liquidated, how many accounts underwent the unexpected assessment, or whether the incident resulted in financial losses.
FXTF’s margin rules apply two liquidation thresholds
Under FXTF’s MT4 trading conditions, the automatic liquidation threshold depends on when a customer’s margin maintenance ratio is assessed.
During the daily margin-assessment window, positions are subject to forced liquidation when the account’s maintenance ratio falls to 100% or below. Outside that window, the usual automatic liquidation threshold is 50% or below.
When a threshold is breached, FXTF’s system generally closes positions with the largest losses first until the account’s maintenance ratio rises above the applicable threshold, although the precise liquidation sequence can vary with trading conditions.
Consider an account with a maintenance ratio of 75% at 1:30 p.m. Under the normal intraday rule, that account would remain above the 50% liquidation threshold. During the scheduled daily assessment, the same ratio would fall below the stricter 100% requirement and qualify for automatic liquidation.
For somebody sitting at a 75% ratio, those are two quite different outcomes.
Moving the assessment from its published afternoon window to an eariler point in the trading day could therefore expose positions to the higher liquidation threshold before customers expected it to apply.
FXTF also recalculates the required margin on open positions during the assessment. Changes in exchange rates can alter the amount of collateral required, meaning the recalculation itself can affect the resulting maintenance ratio.
Japan’s regulatory framework provides the background to these daily checks. Under the Financial Services Agency’s rules for retail forex trading, individual customers generally must maintain margin equivalent to at least 4% of the transaction value, corresponding to maximum leverage of 25:1. Brokers must also establish and implement rules for limiting losses through automatic position liquidation.
FXTF’s two liquidation thresholds form part of its own published trading conditions. The regulatory requirement for daily margin assessments does not establish that the November 2 timing error caused any particular customer position to close.
Broker has not confirmed customer losses
FXTF’s announcement confirms that the margin recalculation and maintenance-ratio assessment occurred at 1:30 p.m. It does not establish that the unexpected assessment triggered forced liquidations.
No count of affected accounts has been given, not even a rough count.
The broker has not disclosed whether any accounts fell between the 50% and 100% thresholds at the time of the error, whether liquidation orders were generated, or whether customers subsequently disputed any transactions.
It also did not explain whether the assessment was conducted again during the normal 3:30–3:45 p.m. window, or whether the early calculation replaced that day’s regularly scheduled check.
Those missing details leave the financial consequences undetermined.
A position closed at 1:30 p.m. under the stricter threshold could have experienced a different outcome if the assessment had occurred two hours later. Exchange rates, account equity and required margin could all have changed during that interval. Establishing an actual financial impact would require account-level transaction records and a comparison with the applicable trading conditions.
A recent Japanese brokerage incident illustrates the potential consequences of incorrect collateral calculations. In October, SBI Securities faced reported forced FX liquidations following a collateral valuation failure, with affected traders describing the closure of positions and complications involving protective orders.
That case involved a different technical problem, and parts of the reported restoration process remained independently unverified. No comparable liquidation or restoration problem has been established at FXTF in connection with its November 2 assessment error.
FXTF also reports heavy customer support demand
FXTF published a seperate customer-service announcement on November 2, reporting unusually high inquiry volumes following changes to its MT4 and MT5 authentication procedures.
Support was busy too, although for a different reason.
Following system maintenance on October 31, the broker introduced mandatory one-time password authentication for MT4 and MT5 logins. FXTF said the change generated substantial customer inquiries, leaving telephone lines difficult to reach and responses through email and LINE delayed.
The broker directed customers experiencing MT4 connection problems toward server-rescanning instructions and provided guidance for configuring the new authentication process.
FXTF did not connect the authentication rollout or customer-service congestion to the margin-assessment error. The available announcements describe two distinct operational developments occurring around the same period.
The authentication changes followed a broader security response involving Japanese trading infrastructure. On October 27, FXTF announced restrictions on overseas IP access across its MT4, MT5 and GX platforms following the cyberattack affecting GMO Internet’s trading-related hosting services.
The additional access controls were intended to reduce unauthorized account activity. There is no disclosed evidence linking that cybersecurity incident or the subsequent authentication changes to the November 2 margin-system configuration error.
System controls face scrutiny after another disclosure
The latest incident also follows an unrelated October disclosure concerning FXTF’s handling of corporate customer assets in its commodity CFD business.
On October 9, the broker acknowledged that certain corporate customer funds had not been covered by the intended trust arrangement, despite customer documentation describing trust protection. FXTF said the assets had been maintained separately from its corporate funds and that it was taking steps to correct the contractual arrangement.
The earlier commodity CFD trust-protection disclosure concerned a different product and a different operational process. Neither announcement establishes a common underlying cause.
In its November 2 statement, FXTF committed to reviewing its configuration settings and management controls more thoroughly. It did not provide additonal technical details identifying the incorrect setting, when it was introduced, or how the error escaped detection before the scheduled assessment.
The available statements also leave unresolved whether the broker has conducted a retrospective examination of MT4 trading accounts to identify any transactions that may have resulted from the unexpected margin check.
Customers seeking to establish whether they were affected would need to examine the relevent account history, particularly any automatic position closures around 1:30 p.m. JST on November 2, and compare those transactions with the broker’s published margin rules.
That leaves the trade records, if any, to tell the rest of it.
For now, FXTF has confirmed an incorrectly timed margin assessment and promised stronger configuration controls. Whether the error led to forced liquidations, customer compensation requests or further corrective measures remains undisclosed.
Johan Shamshad is a financial markets writer at Dave Finances covering cryptocurrencies, trading platforms, brokers, fintech, financial regulation, and developments across global markets. He previously worked at Gulf News, adding newsroom experience to his coverage of fast-moving financial and digital-asset markets.
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