Aug. 16, 2022
August 16, 2022
A fair market is a transparent market. This proposal, while a substantial improvement, does not go far enough.
A 15-minute delay on quotes for retail investors, because it was better than getting them in the newspaper the next day, was a great improvement... back in the 1990s. In truth, the delay served the big guys at the expense of retail investors.
This is the 2020s. The information is there. The systems and capabilities are there. The only reason to not provide real-time, transparent data on securities lending/short selling is that the lack of transparency serves the big guys at the expense of retail investors. They get real-time data. We don't. They use it to their advantage. We suffer.
The most fair approach would be to require real-time updates, transactionally, on securities lending, and to further require that all trades take place on lit exchanges, not behind the curtain. This proposal, while not independently sufficient, is a necessary step in the right direction, and should be enacted as written.