Securities lending balance by year
How much stock was out on loan and not yet returned at the end of each year, and across how many companies.
- as_of
- 2026-08-31
- Sample period
- 2007-01-02 → 2026-08-31
- Rows
- 20
Methodology
On the last trading day of each year that has data, the market-wide lending balance is summed. A year-end value, not an average across the year: a balance is a stock rather than a flow, and averaging a stock says nothing.
Shares, not money: the source carries no value field and this page does not derive one. Securities lending is also NOT margin short selling — different borrowers, different mechanics, different limits — so it is reported separately from the margin page and the two must not be added into a 'total short' that no market participant uses. A year-end snapshot also misses any position built and closed within the year.
What this means, and how to use it
Institutional short interest mostly runs through securities lending, so this is a closer read on professional bearish positioning than the retail-facing margin short figure. The ticker count matters alongside the balance: the same balance spread across 2,000 companies and concentrated in 130 are very different markets. History, not a forecast, and not investment advice.
Year-end lending balance
Data
Download CSV| Year | Balance (shares) | Companies | Measured on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2,361,308,000 | 133 | 2007-12-31 |
| 2008 | 861,043,000 | 139 | 2008-12-31 |
| 2009 | 3,454,344,000 | 276 | 2009-12-31 |
| 2010 | 4,454,346,000 | 616 | 2010-12-31 |
| 2011 | 4,481,890,000 | 658 | 2011-12-30 |
| 2012 | 6,348,037,000 | 663 | 2012-12-28 |
| 2013 | 8,106,188,000 | 662 | 2013-11-29 |
| 2014 | 8,100,233,000 | 742 | 2014-12-31 |
| 2015 | 12,771,392,000 | 771 | 2015-12-31 |
| 2016 | 12,698,294,000 | 792 | 2016-12-30 |
| 2017 | 12,591,138,000 | 819 | 2017-12-29 |
| 2018 | 11,519,444,000 | 850 | 2018-12-28 |
| 2019 | 12,275,233,000 | 913 | 2019-12-31 |
| 2020 | 14,375,679,000 | 938 | 2020-12-31 |
| 2021 | 15,332,958,000 | 991 | 2021-12-30 |
| 2022 | 15,624,804,000 | 1,029 | 2022-12-30 |
| 2023 | 16,788,454,000 | 1,065 | 2023-12-29 |
| 2024 | 21,126,479,000 | 1,128 | 2024-12-31 |
| 2025 | 21,740,092,000 | 1,179 | 2025-12-31 |
| 2026 | 29,851,883,000 | 2,065 | 2026-08-31 |
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