Transparency needed over securities lending in ETFs

The extent of securities lending activity varies across ETFs and issuers, differing in the amount of securities on loan, and the level and type of collateral held in place. Whitechurch senior analyst Ben Seager-Scott says: "It worries me that you don't know what you're holding in securities lending." For example, iShares can lend out up to 95% of the securities held within their physical ETFs, although on average, only 10-15% of portfolios are lent out at any one time. However, the iShares FTSE 250 ETF lends out 80% of its underlying securities on average and the maximum it has len...