Feb. 5, 2024
Dear Securities and Exchange Commision, I am writing to express my concerns and opposition to SR-OCC-2024-001, particularly in relation to the proposed margin requirements for short hedge funds and other institutions. I wholly understand the importance of margin requirements, but I feel the proposed rule undermines the protections it claims to uphold and is a direct affront to household investors. To mitigate systemic risk in our markets I firmly believe that enhanced margin requirements are a necessity. In a time where aggressive short selling has become routine and is inducing undue risk into our financial markets, the proposed rule seeks to remove protections to safeguard us. It is my belief that margin requirements should be increased and it is my hope that the OCC should reconsider this. As I have seen many others echo in comments, the proposed rule does not seem to serve household investors and is only being proposed to continue to support organizations that seek to pervert our financial system and induce even more risk into our markets. Sincerely, Eric Walker 908-601-3046