January 4, 2022
Requiring entities with significant involvement in the markets to report their activities, when they loan stocks for subsequent short sales (or other uses), is quite reasonable and very necessary. If no questionable activity is taking place, the largely or wholly automated reporting procedure is of little to no burden to those entities.
However, if this rule is able to prevent or mitigate sales of fraudulent short shares it is a benefit to every investor, the market in general, the nation and even the very cause of justice (which the SEC should be quite concerned with).
These proposed policies are primarily focused on preventing fraud, market manipulations and other illegal abuses. They should be implemented immediately and thoroughly. If we continue to ignore the problems that come with fraudulent short sales being more available than regular common stock, we will perpetuate a growing distrust of our system in the minds of investors worldwide, further eroding the general value of our markets and investment into America.