Hedge funds bet on major Close Brothers price drop amid wider global banking fears
Hedge funds are betting on a sharp fall in the price of Close Brothers amid wider global banking fears.
The British investment banker has been hit by a wave of short-selling since a “challenging” run of results in March, just days after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Short positions make up just over 6 percent of Close Brothers shares, or nearly £90 million, says S&P Market Intelligence.
Fear: Close Brothers has been hit by a wave of short-selling since a series of “challenging” results
This is far greater than any other major UK bank, including Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest, each of which has short positions against them of less than one per cent.
Close Brothers has 4,000 employees, mainly in the UK and Ireland.
Founded in 1878, the bank is worth around £1.4bn – a fraction of the value of London-listed rivals such as Lloyds, worth more than £30bn, and Barclays, worth £30bn. 24 billion.
Close Brothers declined to comment.