GERMANY: BaFin advice on Germany short selling disclosure regime, first reports submitted from midday tomorrow

Monday March 26 2012

On 26 March 2012, section 30i of the German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz – WpHG) and the Regulation on Net Short Positions (Netto-Leerverkaufspositionsverordnung NLPosV) enter into force.

The provisions introduce expanded notification and publication requirements for net Germany short selling positions and among other things define the electronic reporting channel.

Net short positions that exist on 26 March 2012 and have not yet been notified under the General Decree or that arise on 26 March 2012 are to be notified and/or published for the first time.

Net short positions are to be notified by the end of 27 March 2012, (12 midnight) and, where they are also subject to the publication requirement, to be published within the above period. The notification system (MVP Portal) of BaFin will not be available before Tuesday afternoon CEST (27 March 2012).

Section 30i of the WpHG replaces the General Decree on transparency requirements of BaFin for the shares of ten selected companies of 4 March 2010.

As of 26 March 2012, the notification and publication requirements for net short positions will pertain to all shares admitted to trading on the regulated market of a German stock exchange.

The Regulation on Net Short Positions introduces details on calculating net short positions as well as an electronic notification and publication procedure.

For the notifications, BaFin will make available an electronic notification procedure through its Reporting and Publishing Portal (Melde- und Verouffentlichungsportal – MVP).

No later than when the first notification is submitted, a successful registration on the Reporting and Publishing Portal of BaFin and a registration for the specialised procedure for net short positions are necessary to be able to notify BaFin of net short positions electronically. For the notifying party`s account to be activated by BaFin as soon as possible (so that the notifications are no longer deemed preliminary), users can now register in advance without submitting a notification.

Since a great number of persons or entities subject to the notification requirement and users can be expected, BaFin recommends using the opportunity of advance registration. With regard to the technical details of the notification procedure, BaFin has published an IT information sheet.

Click on the above link for more details.