Regulation SHO

Regulation SHO

A regulatory addition by the Securities & Exchange Commission, expanding and updating the restrictions placed on short sale transactions. The updated regulations came into effect on Jan 3, 2005 and help to address several key issues in the short sale market.

Notes:

One of the primary goals of Regulation SHO is to address potential abuses in the practice of naked short selling, which is the act of short selling without actually confirming that shares have been borrowed. The regulation addresses this issue by including two main short sale requirements: the "locate" and "close-out" requirements. The locate requirement is placed on broker-dealers to reasonably assure that there are in fact shares to borrow to be short sold. The close-out requirement is also placed on broker-dealers to close out positions in securities if the position has failed to be delivered or returned for an extended period.

See also: Broker-Dealer, Naked Shorting, Securities & Exchange Commission - SEC, Short Interest, Short Selling, Short Squeeze