First Republic's Stock Woes Leave Short Sellers and Buyers in Limbo

Short sellers are struggling to find shares to bet against First Republic Bank as only 4% of shares are available for bearish bets. The San Francisco-based lender has rewarded short sellers with paper profits of about $1.2 billion this year as shares plunged roughly 95%. However, about 96% of the shares that can be used for the bet are already taken, turning it into a difficult and expensive trade. The fee for borrowing new shares has soared to a range of 20% to 35% as supply dwindles, making it a challenging trade for investors.