There is no proposed ban on short selling of securities so it is not possible for the Government to assess the costs.

The Short Selling Regulation, which came into force on 1 November 2012, is an EU-wide Regulation that lays down a common regulatory framework for powers and requirements related to the short selling of securities. In particular, it gives powers to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ban or impose restrictions on short selling of securities in certain circumstances, as well as impose the requirement on investors to disclose net short positions (both publicly, and privately to the FCA).

Article 18.1 of Protocol No 4 of the Treaty, on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and of the European Central Bank (ECB), sets out that:

“In order to achieve the objectives of the ESCB and to carry out its tasks, the ECB and the national central banks may:

• operate in the financial markets by buying and selling outright (spot and forward) or under repurchase agreement and by lending or borrowing claims and marketable instruments, whether in euro or other currencies, as well as precious metals;

• conduct credit operations with credit institutions and other market participants, with lending being based on adequate collateral.”