Short Sale Regulation Update: Permanent Adoption of Hard Close-Out Requirement, Expiration of Form SH and Public Disclosure of Volume and Transaction Data
In its latest actions regarding short sale regulation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (1) permanently adopted a slightly modified form of Rule 204T, which required sales of equity securities to be closed out no later than the open of trading on the day after the settlement date, (2) declined to extend Rule 10a-3T , which required certain institutional investors to provide the SEC with information about their short positions and activity on Form SH, (3) announced plans for enhanced public availability of short sale market data and (4) scheduled a public roundtable on September 30, 2009 to discuss short sale issues, including the possible adoption of a short sale price test or short sale circuit breaker to replace the “uptick rule” that was repealed in 2007.