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Securities Lending Market Report | H2 2025

APAC (Ex. Australia) Australia

>>> Equities >>> Equities

APAC equities performed strongly in the second half of 2025. The APAC SBL market experienced robust growth during H2, For Australia, specialness within the market was lower than that of previous years.
leading to a surge of approximately 42% in revenues during 2025 , led by higher corporate action activity via placements & In H2 2025, the typical specials seen within the lithium space Pharmaceuticals did see some sell off and strong
8
tenders, collateral upgrades & dividend reinvestment trades.
eased as underlying spot prices moved off historical lows broker demands, the names in scope here were Botanix
Additionally, the Nikkei 225 & ASX200 reached new record Following a strong rally after its listing, borrow for 3750 HK resulting in some covering and a reduction of levels for the Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT AU), post its inclusion to the
highs in H2. Investor sentiment returned to the region thanks surged with some funds flagging concern over the company’s likes of Liontown Resources Ltd (LTR AU) and Pilbara Minerals ASX300, the stock had since fallen significantly post a poor
to an improving relationship between China and the US after outlook with EV batteries as well as the premium at which Ltd (PLS AU), names typically in demand. Droneshield Ltd sales update & thus was a stock consistently in demand at the
tariff bickering which led to increased volatility, a rally in AI and Hong Kong shares traded in comparison to the Shenzhen line. (DRO AU) saw borrow demand increase towards the end back end of 2025, with levels topping 20%.
technology stocks and rate cuts implemented by the Federal Levels on borrow reached 40% and thus provided healthy of 2025 as short sellers capitalised on valuation concerns Outside of these, MSCI & ASX rebalances always provide
Reserve. The lifting of the short sale ban in H1, coupled with revenues to lending clients. Capital market activity was also resulting in increased lending levels. strong securities lending flows across the additions and
regional geopolitical shifts, was part of the reasoning for higher within 2025, with a series of placements and M&A Uranium shares had a mixed result for 2025, volatility in deletes. A surprise delete, James Hardies PLC (JHX AU) saw
marked growth in the region. activity also bringing extra borrow demand. 1788 HK was underlying commodity prices brought stock volatility for the strong balances taken down to cover tracking exposures.
another name that created lots of interest during the second
From a securities lending perspective, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, half of 2025. This stock became a high volatility directional likes of Boss Energy Ltd (BOE AU). Production concerns October and November were dominated by proxy annual
Taiwan and South Korea were the top performers in the region. play, moving quickly from about HK$0.85 in April to over heading into 2026 added additional borrow demands and was general meeting season, recalls for domestic lenders and
Hong Kong SAR’s outperformance has included specials HK$7.00 by July, leading to short selling pressure and a level suspect for index deletion resulting in a rise in level to 2-3%. remains a topic discussed closely between brokers and lenders.
like Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (3750 HK). Offshore stock for hard to borrow saw levels rise in the likes
of up to and over 100%.
of Guzman Gomez Ltd (GYG AU0 & Reece Ltd (REH AU) as
brokers cover recalls from domestic clients.

Fig 7 - APAC All Securities Lendable and On-Loan
APAC All Securities Lendable & On-Loan
>>> Fixed Income
2.30 270.00 On the fixed income front, Australian Commonwealth Government Bonds have been harder to source as balance sheet
Lendable Value (Trillions €) 2.15 250.00 On-Loan Value (Billions €) For balance sheet, brokers are chasing to upgrade the likes of convertible bonds, ETFs, emerging market collateral for HQLA
2.25
260.00
upgrades and a variety of cash reinvestment trades tie up bonds in the market.
2.20
240.00
and these are trading at premiums as banks optimize and manage their liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). From a cash reinvestment
2.10
230.00
perspective, matched term in 3 and 6 month space continues to trade at elevate levels leveraging term deposits, commercial
2.05
220.00
paper and negotiable certificate of deposit for reinvestment vehicles.
2.00
1.95
1.90
200.00
Jul 2025 Aug 2025 Sep 2025 Oct 2025 Nov 2025 Dec 2025 210.00
Group Lendable On-Loan Balance

8. Source: DataLend