Apr. 20, 2022
I am a retail investor and I believe this proposed rule would enable the practice of illegal naked short selling and provide protection to those who choose to engage in fraudulent and abusive short selling from the consequences of their actions. This rule allows them to skirt the rules that ensure fair market mechanics, and gives unlimited power and scope to bad actors who would abuse such mechanics. It is designed to "alleviate Fail To Delivers", but in practice it does nothing to eliminate them, and in actuality it protects the action of illegal naked short selling to the detriment of the free market. This rule only serves to further obfuscate the abusive naked short selling practices of institutional investors by taking advantage of the complexity of financial vehicles and effectively safe-guarding them from their own poor investment decisions. Passing this new rule would only further deteriorate the American public's faith in a "free and fair market". I urge you to withdraw this proposal immediately.