Short selling in the Australian banking sector has been increasing since September 28th when Commissioner Kenneth Hayne released his interim report of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Australian Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. Today the commissioner delivered the final version of the report which will be published on Monday. The expectation of a completely reformed regulatory infrastructure to address systemic misconduct and structural failures in the sector based on the report’s findings has led short sellers to increase their short exposure by 67% since the end of the 3rd quarter 2018.
