Allianz manager slams German short-selling ban

European equity manager Harald Sporleber from Allianz Global Investors in Frankfurt thinks Germany's ban on naked short-selling does not go far enough and has merely created further uncertainty.

'The German government has not gone far enough in only banning naked, i.e. uncovered, short selling and not all short selling outright,' the manager of the Allianz RCM Discovery strategy said. 'The majority of hedge funds now undertake only covered short selling. In addition, derivatives are not included in the ban.'

He thinks such a unilateral move from Angela Merkel's government is not constructive and will only lead to more market instability.

'At the end of the day, there is little sense in Germany acting alone. Such a policy can only be effective if all countries implement it in a coordinated manner, but overall we have learnt between September 2008 and January 2009 that these rules are less efficient and they have created more panic.'

“This move is designed to show markets who is ‘really in control’ when it comes to restricting markets and those who participate in them and it appears not to have been discussed with experts. This is, quite simply, a major source of uncertainty for markets, and as we know markets hate uncertainty.'