Will Banks See a Rise in Short Interest?

Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Credit Suisse (CS) and UBS stocks could have an impact on Christmas spending, given the current earnings pressure on bonuses this might reduce spending across global capitals but the immediate effect will probably not be transparent.

Starting with Goldman, which has 1.57% of its shares outstanding on loan (%SOOL), down from 10% in the summer, an all-time high for the bank. Utilisation is at 7%. The share price has fallen from $250 in July to $71 now.

Morgan Stanley has 3.35% SOOL, down from 7.7% in July. Utilisation is at 18.13%. The company’s share price has fallen from $45 in August to $12 now.

Credit Suisse has 2.65%, down from 4% in June. Utilisation is at 10% and the company’s share price has halved in value, from nearly 60CHF in September to $30 now.

UBS has seen relatively little activity, with the %SOOL at 1.4%, a figure that has remained virtually the same for the past three months. The big spike was in June, up from 3% to nearly 10% in the space of four weeks. The bank’s share price has fallen from 50 to 15CHF in the last year.