UK Treasury to reform short selling regulations amid efforts to ramp up growth

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The UK will reform regulations on the short selling of shares listed on UK markets, as part of the government’s program to repeal and replace retained EU law in financial services, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The move comes amid a series of reforms that the government has announced as one of the biggest overhauls of financial regulation in more than 30 years "to help turbocharge growth and deliver a smarter and home-grown regulatory framework for the UK."

Short selling is a practice of borrowing shares to sell them on the open market, with the aim of purchasing them back later for less money.

The short selling regulations also involve provisions on disclosure to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the public, a ban on naked short selling, and emergency powers for the FCA.

"This regulation was introduced by the EU and was brought onto the UK statute book following our exit from the EU," the statement said, adding: "In implementing the outcomes of the Future Regulatory Framework, the Government will repeal this regulation and replace it with a regulatory regime tailored to UK markets, supporting market integrity and bolstering the competitiveness of UK financial markets."