Bankers Call for SEC Investigation into Short Sales and Trading Abuses

The American Bankers Association has called on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate short sales of publicly traded banking equities that it says are "disconnected from the underlying financial realities" and to take measures to reduce abusive trading practices. The call comes as shares of regional banks resumed their slide this week after the collapse of First Republic Bank, the third US mid-sized lender to fail in two months.