Possibility of selling covered calls with IB's Stock Yield Enhancement Program

I am aiming to extract some cash out of my long position by writing OTM covered calls.
Would it be possible to do so if the securities are lent out?

FAQ is silent on this matter: https://ibkr.info/node/1838

 

It should be in a margin account.

 

Yep, no issues at all.

Can a client write covered calls against stock which has been loaned out through the Stock Yield Enhancement Program and receive the covered call margin treatment?
Yes. A loan of stock has no impact upon its margin requirement on an uncovered or hedged basis since the lender retains exposure to any gains or losses associated with the loaned position.

 

Perfect - will go ahead with that.

I am equally flirting with the idea of placing OTM naked puts to lower my purchase price:

I do not own any XYZ shares and am considering selling a put to buy the shares at a lower price - August Puts @ $10 strike are quoted 1.05x1.25

Am i right in understanding that if I sold 10 contracts at 1.15, I would earn 10x100x1.15 (multiplier = 100) today, and may end up having to buy the shares at 10$ if they drop and option buyer agrees to sell?

 

I wouldn't look at it as "option buyer agrees to sell". Just view them as ITM (in-the money) or OTM (out of the money) at expiration. If you're short and the option finishes ITM, you're assigned and obligated to take the shares with a cost basis of $10-$1.15 = $8.85 per contract. If it finishes at $5, you still have effectively paid $8.85, so you're about $4 underwater to start. If it finishes above $10, you keep the entire premium and don't take the shares.

 

Yes got that. Is there a possibility of pulling the margin impact with the excel api?

 

Yes, you can get that information via API. Recently new functionality was added to get margin impact of an intended trade directly. Previously it required a two-step approach:
step 1: get your current initial/maintenance margin of your account.
step 2: submit the intended order as a what-if order and receive the resulting initial/maintenance margin of your account if the order would have been executed. The margin requirement of this order is the difference between the two values of the account margin requirement (i.e. after minus before).

 

Perfect - and how would I do that if I may ask?

 

I'm not familiar with the excel API. I have done this two-step approach in the past using the Java API.