Australia accuses Macquarie of inaccurately reporting up to 1.5 billion short sales
ReutersMAY 11
Australia Sues Macquarie for 'Misreporting' Short Sales
Above: The Macquarie Bank Limited logo displayed on a smartphone screen on April 24, 2025. Image copyright: SOPA Images/LightRockeet via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
ASIC has no other choice but to seek regulatory action against Macquarie Securities Limited for misreporting potentially hundreds of millions of short sales to the market operator over nearly 15 years. While there is no evidence to suggest this was deliberate, it is still severe, given that short sale data is vital to inform investors, governments, and regulators about market sentiment and potential risks.
Narrative B
The regulatory action against Macquarie overlooks the fact that it was the banking group itself, not ASIC, that first identified the irregularities in MSAL’s accounting and voluntarily reported them as long ago as late 2022. While Macquarie will carefully review the case, it has reiterated that it takes its financial and legal obligations seriously and continues to invest in the organization’s controls and systems.