Margin debt fell $84.8 billion in July, the largest monthly drop on record

FINRA’s customer margin balances fell to $1,417,225 million in July 2026 from a record $1,502,072 million in June, a change of $84,847 million. That is the largest negative month in the series, which begins in January 1997; the prior record was $80,384 million in January 2022. It follows the two largest monthly increases on record, $111,276 million in May and $86,515 million in June, so the July figure removes about one month of the spring’s borrowing. Year on year the balance was up 49.0% in June and is up 38.6% in July.

The record is a dollar record on a record base. As a percentage the July drop is 5.6%, and 24 months in the file fell harder, with October 2008 at 19.7% the largest. A $1.4 trillion balance moves by larger dollar amounts than a $500 billion one did, which is why a 5.6% month sets a dollar record while ranking 25th in percent. What the chart shows is one month of deleveraging against five years of monthly changes; whether August continues it is a question the next release answers, and margin debt has been a coincident measure of the market rather than a leading one.