SEC Approves "Hard to Borrow List" Functionality for CBOE Exchanges
The SEC approved a proposed rule change allowing multiple CBOE exchanges - BYX, BZX, EDGA and EDGX - to offer their members "Hard to Borrow List" functionality, that users may elect to apply to their short sale orders in U.S. equity securities.
The technology allows a member firm to institute an automated block on traders at the member firm (or customers to whom it has granted direct market access) in stocks that the member firm has identified as "hard to borrow." The SEC said that the proposed rule change would provide a "useful risk management tool," but cautioned that it was not a substitute for a users' own systems for compliance with applicable securities laws.