Putting Australian Securities Lending into Context

Flying into Sydney ahead of the Pan Asian Securities Lending Association Conference, we could see two big storms building on the horizon. The first was a classic thunderstorm bringing with it much needed rain; the second a media storm surrounding A.B.C. Learning Centres Limited, bringing with it unwelcome confusion. We are not qualified to comment on the former and will leave discussion on the thunderstorm to the meteorological experts. We are, however, well qualified to comment on the latter which involved a share price collapse, hedge fund short selling, margin lending and, what caught our attention most, securities lending. The timing was classic – the securities lending industry was flying into town and the press was flying into a frenzy.

For those of us familiar with the way in which the securities lending industry is covered in the press, the headlines and the commentary came as no big surprise. It is all too reminiscent of previous media storms. This really was a case of déjà vu.
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