Aug. 16, 2022
August 16, 2022
As an individual retail investor I fully support this rule.
There is inherent danger in long, untracked lending chains that can lead to economic fragility. Securities lending activity can hide massively destructive chains of obligation that can even threaten national security, and so transparency in this area is more important than ever.
I support transaction-by-transaction reporting because it eliminates security lenders' ability to \"hide within the aggregate\". Aggregates are not transparent.
I support the 15-minute reporting requirement. The cost and effort are justified to prevent fraud and prevent hiding in loopholes.
Predatory short selling in the dark harms true price discovery and competition. Victimized companies need better ability to defend themselves against predatory practices.
If funds are allowed to continue to short in the dark then retail investors will remain dangerously unaware of the risks we take on when buying securities.
If this rule is passed then retail investors can become a sort of first line watch-dog in monitoring short-selling data for securities fraud. This would strengthen the SEC's ability to fulfill its mandate at no cost.
Enacting this rule as written will bring some much needed faith in the functioning of the markets.