Oct. 31, 2022
October 31, 2022 Securities lending, rampant failure-to-delivers, reckless derivative vehicles such as swaps, and an overall lack of public and real-time data, are all fundamental issues with the current market structure of the United States. All of these are related, and all need immediate attention and correction. There is no reason, with the technology available today, that one should be allowed to borrow something without immediately locating what they are borrowing. In no other asset class can you lend an item without first securing it to lend. Further, the naturally obscure nature of the existing lending structure allows for nearly limitless exploitation of vehicles such as swaps. Swap data, and data on similar derivative vehicles, needs to be available to everyone, at all times. Without this, you are not operating a truly free and fair market. The CFTC is currently refusing to release swap data to the public for the next several years. How is this appropriate? How can an individual investor make an informed decision without a full set of data from which to operate? Put simply, fundamental market data is being intentionally hidden from retail investors, while market makers, banks, brokers, and others, have full access. This needs to be made available in real-time, to everyone, and without exception. The United States is not operating a free and fair market, and individual retail investors are beginning to wake up to this fact.