Securities lending
Borrowing securities for a time against an obligation to return the same ones and to pay the lender.
How to read the number
Short selling rests on it: selling a security that is not on the account is only possible after borrowing it from somebody who holds it.
When the metric lies
The loan is neither free nor open-ended, and availability of a particular issue depends on whether a lender happens to hold it — which changes from day to day.
Also known as: stock lending