UK Financial Stock Short Selling Regime—Short Selling Disclosure Regime Extended

KEY POINTS

Disclosure

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules on disclosure were due to expire on June 30, 2009. However, the obligation to disclose a net short position in a UK financial sector company is to remain in place. For details of the current disclosure obligations, please see our January 26, 2009, alert, “UK Financial Stock Short Selling Regime—FSA Releases Policy Statement.”

The current disclosure regime will remain in place until it is “superseded in due course by broader permanent disclosure measures – preferably agreed on the widest possible international basis – and/or be revoked.” The FSA has emphasized that it does not intend to keep the regime permanently.

Note: As previously set out in the January alert, the prohibition on short selling of stocks in UK financial sector companies has ended.

Further information

The Policy Statement 09/1, “Temporary short selling measures,” can be found here: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/policy/ps09_01.pdf

The Policy Statement 09/10, “Extension of the short selling disclosure obligation,” can be found here: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/policy/ps09_10.pdf

The list of UK financial sector companies can be found here:
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/other/Shortselling_list.pdf