NSCC Illiquid Margin Charge

The National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) assesses an additional charge when, over a 3-day settlement period, any one participating clearing firm's trading activity exceeds:

· 25% of the 30-day daily average volume on the sell side

OR

· purchases exceed 10,000,000 shares of an illiquid security

The minimum requirement on sub-penny securities is $0.01 per share. Generally, the requirements can be calculated at 2 to 10 times the closing price or the 20-day high, whichever is greater. The charges are incurred from trade date, through and until settlement of the trade.