The Financial Services Authority has indefinitely extended its disclosure regime for significant net short positions in financial sector stocks, the U.K. regulator said Friday.

The new disclosure regime was due to expire on June 30. It requires disclosure if a net short position exceeds 0.25% of a company’s issued shared capital or increases by 0.1% bands above that (e.g. net short position reaches 0.35%. 0.45% and so on).

The FSA says that extending the regime “will continue to help reduce the potential for abusive behaviour and disorderly markets.”

While no expiry date has been set, the FSA maintains that it does not intend to keep the regime permanently. It is currently analyzing responses to its discussion paper on the options for a future short selling disclosure regime for all UK stocks, and it says it remains committed to getting the widest possible international consensus on how the regime would work.

IE