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Impact of Short Selling Bans in Europe
Impact of Short Selling Bans in Europe
Mark Buchanan
Jonathan Tse
Portfolio Strategy
Impact of Short Selling Bans in Europe
Market Commentary
Drew Vincent
3 October 2011
Key Points
Effective August 12th regulators in Belgium, France, Italy and Spain introduced short selling bans on financial stocks. The bans appear to have done little to halt the slide in share prices or dampen volatility relative to peers. They may also have contributed to significantly reduced liquidity in affected financials and a widening of bid-ask spreads, increasing the cost of trading. These effects may partly explain why other major European countries have thus far failed to follow suit.
Belgium, France, Italy and Spain Introduce Bans in Response to Euro Debt Crisis Volatility
On August 11th regulators in Belgium, France, Italy and Spain introduced short selling bans on financial stocks 1 following a period of high volatility linked to the euro debt crisis. The bans which according to ESMA were introduced in order to restrict the benefits that can be achieved by spreading false rumours 2 became effective on August 12th. With the exception of Belgium, they were originally intended to last 15 days only, but these dates have since been extended (see Exhibit 1). Exhibit 1: Ban Summary
Country Belgium France Italy Spain Proposed End Date Indefinite. Until further notice and for a period that cannot go beyond November 11th. November 11th. Indefinite No. of Stocks 4 9 28 13
In this report we again focus mainly on performance, liquidity and bid-ask spreads, using non-financials in the affected countries as well as nonbanned financials in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK for our control groups. Our findings may explain why other major European countries have thus far failed to follow suit.
1
2
For further information on short selling regulations please see www.esma.europa.eu/data/document/2011_39.pdf. ESMA promotes harmonized regulatory action on short selling in the EU. European Securities and Markets Authority. 11 August 2011.
(212 (
PORTFOLIO STRATEGY
120%
(vs. close Aug 11th)
40%
0%
-20%
GLE FP BVA SQ BNP FP
-40%
-40%
100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
Source: Credit Suisse Portfolio Strategy, Aug 1, 2011 to Sept 20, 2011
Liquidity Dries Up
Time Period
Median Turnover (Volume) for Ban Period vs. Median Turnover (Volume) from Jan 3rd Aug 11th th
-43% (-34% )
-22% (+26%)
-1% (+1%)
Source: Credit Suisse Portfolio Strategy, Jan 3, 2011 to Sept 15, 2011
200% 180% 160% 140% 120% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 01-Jun 08-Jun 15-Jun 22-Jun 29-Jun 06-Jul 13-Jul 20-Jul 27-Jul 03-Aug 10-Aug 17-Aug 24-Aug 31-Aug 07-Sep 14-Sep
Normalised Turnover
Non-Banned Financials
Banned Financials
Source: Credit Suisse Portfolio Strategy, Jun 1, 2011 to Sept 15, 2011
50 40 30 20 10 0 VSTOXX Level
VSTOXX
Banned Financials
Non-Banned Financials
Tick Size
Actual Spread
Source: Credit Suisse AES Analysis, Jan 3, 2011 to Sept 16, 2011
Source: Credit Suisse AES Analysis, Jan 3, 2011 to Sept 16, 2011 3
PORTFOLIO STRATEGY
Ratio of Banned vs. Non-Banned Volatility Was Falling Pre-Ban but has Risen Again Post-Ban
Since the ban, there has been a clear change in volumes and volatility of the financial stocks, which now behave more or less in line with other stocks 3 Thierry Francq secretary general of the AMF. As we have seen, volumes in banned financials have dropped substantially more than non-banned financials (see Exhibit 5). As to whether the ban has reduced the volatility of banned financials versus their peers, we can see from Exhibit 9 that this is not the case. Exhibit 9: Volatility Ratio - Banned vs. Non-Banned Financials*
220%
4) Post-ban, convergent trend reversed.
200%
2) Dramatic increase due to euro crisis.
180%
1) Banned financials volatility ~30% higher than non-banned financials.
Ratio
160%
140%
3) Strong convergence towards pre-crisis ratio as overall volatility jumps.
120%
100%
03-Jan 17-Jan 31-Jan 06-Jun 20-Jun 04-Jul 14-Mar 28-Mar 11-Apr 14-Feb 28-Feb 25-Apr 18-Jul 01-Aug 15-Aug 29-Aug 12-Sep 09-May 23-May 26-Sep
Source: Credit Suisse AES Analysis, Jan 3, 2011 to Sept 27, 2011 * Volatility is calculated using 15min intra-day returns.
For most of the year, the financial stocks that would eventually be banned traded with approximately 1.3 times the volatility of their peers. While the recent Eurozone panic saw this difference increase dramatically (peaking at 2 times around mid-July), towards the end of July as overall volatility increased - the volatilities of these financials and our control group began to converge, the ratio reaching pre-crisis levels immediately before the ban. However, following the introduction of the ban, the stocks affected have become relatively more volatile again, reversing what had been a convergent trend.
Hughes, Jennifer. Short sellers remain calm despite bans FT.com. The Financial Times. 23 August 2011. 4
PORTFOLIO STRATEGY
Conclusion
At times of extreme volatility, it is easy to understand why regulators react by introducing short selling bans and blaming false rumours for driving prices down. However, as illustrated above, the short selling ban appears to have done little to halt the slide in share prices or dampen volatility relative to peers. In fact, the affected financials have seen bid-ask spreads widen and have suffered a significant drop in liquidity since the ban was introduced, increasing the cost of trading. While short selling bans represent a tempting and politically expedient option, closer inspection demonstrates that in fact they do more harm than good. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that they have not seen more widespread use.
Credit Suisse
Portfolio Strategy
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