RE: Drop27 Apr 2026 13:54
Das180 - seems to me you are describing the behaviour of those trading platforms out there who will lend the shares out that they are holding on behalf of private investors (generally to other private investors). As far as I am concerned, that is fraud. They are permitting the lend of something they don't actually own and if the owner wants to sell and can't they could be seriously disadvantaged. Ultimately, in a serious enough situation, the trading platform could find itself with serious liabilities leading to insolvency. The FCA needs to take a long, hard look at itself. I use a trading platform that holds my assets in an escrow account - if they go insolvent, I still own my assets.
The shorters most describe on here and the 3 main protagonists focused on, go to the holders direct and borrow the shares for a fee. Why they do this is because they have a significant asset (look at the main holders of ITM's shares here) which while providing a benefit for other reasons to them is otherwise financial moribund. They lend the shares to earn some money (rent) from the shorter. If the share drops to 0 then they at least got the rent - if the shares go up, they get the shares back and can choose to sell, or if the shorter can't cover the losses they incur from the shares increased price, the lender gets the shorter by the curlies.