Austria extends naked short ban for some financials
Reuters Staff, 29 May 2012
VIENNA, May 29 (Reuters) – Austria has extended until Oct. 31 its ban on naked short selling of shares in lenders Erste Group Bank and Raiffeisen Bank International and insurers Vienna and Uniqa, the FMA market watchdog said on Tuesday.
The ban had been set to expire on May 31. Only short-term transactions by market makers or specialists are exempt from the ban.
Short sellers sell borrowed shares in the hope they can be bought back at a lower price. Naked short-selling involves selling shares without first borrowing them.
