Both the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Banking Committee announced Friday that they will hold hearings regarding “recent market instability” after a number of major online stock brokerages introduced restrictions on trades involving tech stocks commonly shorted by institutional investors.
“Hedge funds have a long history of predatory conduct and that conduct is entirely indefensible,” House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters wrote in a statement. “As a first step in reining in these abusive practices, I will convene a hearing to examine the recent activity around GameStop (GME) stock and other impacted stocks with a focus on short selling, online trading platforms, gamification and their systemic impact on our capital markets and retail investors.”
