As has been widely reported, on 11 and 12 August, the respective securities market regulators of France, Italy, Spain and Belgium, in conjunction with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), announced restrictions on the shorting of certain banking and financial stocks. The FSA has stated that it will not be following suit with a short selling ban in the UK.
The bans in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium restrict creating or increasing any net economic short positioning institutions to which the measures apply (although a number of exemptions are available – for example to market makers). The bans in France, Italy and Spain are for 15 days and extensions may be made in the case of France and Spain. The short selling ban in Belgium does not have an expiry date.
Among the most prominent financial institutions to which the ban applies are France’s Société Générale, BNP Paribas and CréditAgricole, and Spain’s Banco Santander.
For further information on the short selling bans please follow the links provided to access releases from each country’s respective regulator.
