France, Spain and Italy issued one-day prohibitions against betting on falling share prices for selected companies — and then longer bans of between one and three months, applied to all stocks listed on their domestic markets. Belgium, Austria and Greece swiftly followed suit, while Esma, the pan-European regulator, demanded tighter standards on reporting of short positions. Markus Ferber, an influential European MEP, urged a co-ordinated ban across the continent.
But the clampdown has been partial. Other regulators, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, opted against such measures, saying it set a “high bar” for imposing bans. The German watchdog, BaFin, has said nothing publicly but has so far imposed no restrictions.
The divergence has created headaches for investors and traders trying to navigate a patchwork of rules. “Everyone has different interpretations and it’s guesswork right now,” said Mark Spanbroek, vice-chairman of Epta, which represents Europe’s proprietary traders.
The full article is available at https://www.ft.com/content/14a95d33-b4db-4a9a-a4e4-834a45c23228