May 4, 2023
I as an individual investor strongly support this rule and the proposed reporting because it eliminates the ability to \"hide within the aggregate\" transparency means transparency and aggregates are not transparent.
I as an individual investor strongly support this rule and the 15-minute reporting requirement, I find that the cost and effort are justified to prevent fraud and prevent hiding in loopholes.
I explicitly state that victimized companies need a greater ability to defend themselves against predators, and that \"short selling in the dark\" harms true competition and price discovery. The idea that a small number of short-selling funds \"know best\" and can hammer unsuspecting companies in the dark is shameful.
I hope that retail investors will benefit from increased transparency. Retail investors have a much better idea of the risks of their decisions and transactions if they can see who is targeted which companies. If funds are allowed to short in the dark, retail investors remain dangerously unaware of the risks they take on when purchasing securities.
I absolutely support the new and very desirable phenomenon of the public serving as first-line watchdogs in monitoring short selling data for securities fraud, strengthening the SEC and better enabling it to fulfill its mandate, at no cost.
I fear the dangers inherent in long, untracked lending chains, that can lead to economic fragility. Securities lending activity can hide massively destructive chains of obligation that can even be a threat to national security, and so transparency in this area is more important than it has ever been.
Best regards and regulations, they are so very much needed,
Erik Steffen