Securities lending is an integral market activity that expands liquidity and reduces spreads while simultaneously creating extra revenue streams for fund investors through fees and interest charged to borrowers. The Interesting Info about buyers agent sydney.
Securities lending temporarily transfers ownership of stocks, bonds, or derivative contracts to a borrower in exchange for payment to a broker and collateral equal to or greater than their loan value. Utilization rate is one of the more frequently discussed SBL metrics.
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Collateral
Securities lending enables investors and institutions to complete trades that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. It also provides liquidity in these markets when there are price discrepancies between buyers and sellers – for instance, if you sold to one party but have not yet received a delivery from another party.
Collateral is an essential element of securities lending – lenders must ensure that they possess enough cash or non-cash security to cover the value of any borrowed securities in case they cannot return them when demanded, typically via an initial margin call and delivery versus payment (DVP) agreement.
The collateral process depends on the type of security being lent. Therefore, fund investors must understand if and how their fund lends deposits. Doing so can produce additional income through fees collected from borrowers – possibly offsetting part of their management fee charged by the fund.
Transaction Costs
Securities lending and borrowing contribute to market liquidity by enabling investors to take positions like short selling. Furthermore, loan fees and interest are an additional source of income for fund investors.
Collateral can come in cash or securities (securing securities against money is similar to repo). Either way, lenders are expected to reinvest the loan proceeds and earn back what has been agreed as their rebate rate with their borrowers.
As with any investment strategy, securities lending carries risks. The primary hazards include the borrower’s insolvency and collateral values falling below the costs of replacing it. BlackRock strives to strike an appropriate balance between return, risk, and cost when conducting securities lending activity – more information on this can be found in our Key Investor Information Document and fund prospectus documents. Ultimately though, participating in securities lending should remain a personal decision for every investor.
Interest Rates
Securities lending is a form of financing in which marketable securities, such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, are pledged as collateral against an agreement made between yourself and a lender in exchange for access to an agreed-upon credit line which you can draw on at any time during a predetermined period. Lenders such as pension funds, insurance companies, or hedge funds typically charge interest on their loans to generate profits from lending their money out.
Settlement coverage was the initial motivation for entering the securities lending business; today, borrowing is driven by failed shorts, market making, arbitrage, and dividend reinvestment plan arbitrage. The global collateral pool consists of cash and non-cash collateral that must be equal to or greater than the value of the security loaned, plus any agreed margins.
Industry metrics used most frequently include on-loan and lendable, which measure the total gross inventory held by the market. When combined with utilization data such as days to cover, this helps users better understand market sentiment and liquidity.
Short Selling
Securities lending is a trading activity in which temporary ownership of stocks, bonds, and derivatives is transferred temporarily from one party to another for use as collateral by the lender and charging a monthly fee for their service. Lenders use securities lending for various reasons, including making money shorting securities at lower prices (shorting), hedging an exposure, taking advantage of opportunities through custom trades, or arbitraging.
Securities lending is typically over the counter and requires two parties to agree bilaterally through a broker on loan terms such as cost of borrowing, time to termination, and collateral requirements. They also agree on how fees or rebates will be reconciled and paid back – typically every month – which ensures lenders receive their payments and can pass them onto original beneficial owners; in cases where security is lent over its dividend record date, the borrower must “manufacture back” these dividend payments into its original beneficial owner if needed – see “manufacture” back dividend payments to its original owner to ensure full benefit ownership rights are received from both parties involved.
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