Egypt's regulator makes training compulsory for short-selling brokers

Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority has completed its first training programme for staff who will handle short selling, and passing it is mandatory for any brokerage seeking a short-selling licence, the authority said on 27 October.

More than 100 participants from 42 brokerage firms and financial institutions took part, qualifying them to act as designated compliance and execution officers for short-selling transactions. Under the new rules, a brokerage seeking authorisation must employ at least one designated short-selling compliance officer, and candidates must pass the authority's examinations and training modules, it said. The course was run by the Financial Services Institute, the authority's training arm.

It covered 13 subjects, including the new Central Lending System, lending caps, collateral management, the closing of borrowing positions and the return of securities, as well as the standard contract between brokerages and borrowing clients issued under Chairman Decree No. 3350 of 2026.

The framework itself is Board Resolution No. 155 of 2026. When it was issued in August, the authority said aggregate lending may not exceed 40 per cent of a listed company's free float, and a single client with related parties may not borrow more than 2 per cent. Brokers must collect an initial cash margin of at least 50 per cent of the market value of the borrowed securities and follow an uptick rule on sale prices. A firm needs shareholders' equity of at least EGP 5 million, or EGP 10 million if it also offers margin trading.

"This training is core to building capacity and technical readiness ahead of the short-selling rollout," said Islam Azzam, the authority's chairman. He described it as an operational step towards launch while the authority completes its guidelines and runs live simulations of the lending system managed by Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry. No launch date was given.

Live technical tests with the exchange and the depository were under way in mid-October, Daily News Egypt reported. The rollout comes as Egypt works through the last months of its IMF programme. In Türkiye, the public oversight authority has opened a sustainability reporting licence exam.