Understanding stock loans and block trades.
Practitioner guides to securities-backed financing: how to structure, price, disclose and use it, market by market.
How Much Can You Borrow Against Your Shares?
There is no flat figure. The advance against listed shares is set to the specific holding, driven by liquidity, volatility, concentration, your regulatory standing and the recourse profile you choose.
Read → Fundamentals · May 21, 2026Can You Borrow Against Stock Without Selling It?
Yes. A stock loan lets a shareholder pledge listed shares as collateral, draw cash against part of their value, retain beneficial ownership, and recover the full position once the loan is repaid.
Read → Pricing · April 30, 2026How Much Does a Stock Loan Cost?
A stock loan’s main cost is the financing rate charged on the drawn amount, alongside any structuring and custody costs. The level depends on collateral quality, advance rate, tenor, recourse and currency.
Read → Structuring · April 9, 2026How Long Does a Stock Loan Last?
A stock loan’s term is set to the borrower’s need, commonly running one to three years, with the option to repay early, extend or refinance, and to release the pledge once principal is repaid.
Read → Macro · March 16, 2026The State of Securities-Backed Lending in 2026
Securities-backed lending has matured into a recognised component of private wealth and corporate financing. Several structural forces are shaping how this market develops through the mid-2020s.
Read → Risk · March 5, 2026What Happens If Your Stock Falls During a Loan?
If your pledged shares fall in value during a loan, what happens depends entirely on the structure you agreed at the outset — recourse facilities can call for a top-up, non-recourse facilities cannot.
Read → Strategy · February 12, 2026Stock Loan or Sell Your Shares — Which Is Right?
Selling realises cash but ends the position; a stock loan raises cash while keeping ownership, upside and votes. The right choice depends on whether you are exiting a thesis or bridging liquidity.
Read → Risk · January 22, 2026Are Stock Loans Safe? The Risks Explained
A stock loan is a legitimate institutional tool, but it carries genuine risks — price, custody, counterparty, recourse and currency — that a holder must understand and a well-structured facility is designed to contain.
Read → Block Trades · January 8, 2026What Is a Block Trade, and How Does One Work?
A block trade is the off-market sale of a large line of listed shares at a negotiated price, executed bilaterally and printed under exchange rules to avoid moving the open market.
Read → Use Cases · December 8, 2025Stock Loans for Corporates and Treasury Teams
Corporate treasury functions increasingly consider securities-backed lending as a complement to traditional working-capital and debt facilities, particularly where listed shareholdings sit on the balance sheet.
Read → Block Trades · November 26, 2025How Do You Sell a Large Block of Shares Without Moving the Price?
A large block is sold without moving the price by taking it off the open order book — negotiating off-market at an agreed price, often with a liquidity provider taking the risk, and printing under exchange block rules.
Read → Disclosure · November 5, 2025Do Block Trades Have to Be Disclosed?
Often yes. Once a significant shareholder crosses a market’s substantial-holding threshold, a block sale is generally notifiable to the regulator within a set window, with thresholds varying by jurisdiction.
Read → Markets · October 15, 2025Which Countries Can You Arrange Stock Loans and Block Trades In?
A regional guide to where securities-backed financing can be arranged, spanning the principal cash-equity exchanges of the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, with each market page setting out the local specifics.
Read → Process · October 1, 2025How to Get a Stock Loan: The Process, Step by Step
Getting a stock loan runs through five disciplined stages: a confidential enquiry, indicative terms, documentation, custody and pledge, then funding under a single accountable principal.
Read → Cross-Currency · September 15, 2025Currency Choice and the Global Borrower
Shareholders holding listed securities across multiple jurisdictions face a fundamental question: in which currency should they borrow against those assets?
Read → Documentation · May 12, 2025What an Institutional Term Sheet Covers
A well-drafted term sheet sets out the commercial and structural terms of a securities-backed facility clearly enough that both parties can proceed to documentation without surprises.
Read → Practice · February 17, 2025Selecting a Lender: What Discretion Really Means
Discretion in securities-backed lending is more than a marketing claim — it is a set of specific operational and legal commitments that separate credible lenders from the rest.
Read → Markets · December 9, 2024Mega-Cap Concentration and the Case for Single-Stock Loans
As global equity indices concentrate in a handful of mega-cap names, shareholders in those companies face acute liquidity and diversification challenges that stock loans can help address.
Read → Collateral · September 30, 2024ESG Considerations and Restricted Stock as Collateral
ESG screens and lock-up restrictions both affect the pledgeability of listed shares. Understanding how lenders evaluate these factors is essential for borrowers.
Read → Use Cases · July 22, 2024Succession Planning and Securities-Backed Credit
When family wealth is concentrated in listed shares, securities-backed credit can fund succession without triggering a taxable disposal.
Read → Use Cases · May 20, 2024Funding a capital call from a listed portfolio: using securities-backed lending to meet private equity obligations
When a capital call arrives unexpectedly, a securities-backed loan against listed holdings offers a faster and less disruptive source of funding than selling equities.
Read → Use Cases · March 11, 2024The family office playbook for concentrated stock: financing, hedging, and long-term stewardship
Family offices holding large single-stock positions face unique tensions between liquidity, control, and intergenerational wealth preservation that securities-backed lending can help resolve.
Read → Use Cases · January 15, 2024Founder liquidity without losing control: how a securities-backed facility preserves ownership
A securities-backed loan lets founders access capital against their listed shares without selling, surrendering board votes, or triggering a taxable disposal.
Read → Block Trades · September 12, 2022How a block trade is priced and printed
Pricing a large block of shares involves risk assessment, market microstructure, and bilateral negotiation — not simply applying a fixed discount formula.
Read → Block Trades · June 20, 2022Block trades vs accelerated bookbuilds
Two routes to monetise a large listed position quickly — but they serve very different principals with different risk profiles.
Read → Risk · April 25, 2022Hedging a concentrated position alongside a loan
Shareholders who borrow against a concentrated equity position carry both financing risk and market risk. Combining a loan with a hedging strategy can address both — but requires careful coordination.
Read → Macro · February 21, 2022Rising rates and stock-loan pricing
As central banks tighten monetary policy, the reference rates underpinning securities-backed lending move too. Understanding how loan pricing responds helps borrowers plan effectively.
Read → Use Cases · December 13, 2021Pre-IPO and lock-up: financing restricted shares
Founders and early shareholders often face long illiquidity windows before or after an IPO. Bespoke financing structures can unlock value from restricted positions without breaching lock-up terms.
Read → Tax · October 4, 2021Tax-aware liquidity: borrowing instead of selling
For shareholders with large unrealised gains, a securities-backed loan can provide immediate liquidity without triggering a disposal — though tax consequences vary by jurisdiction.
Read → Custody · July 26, 2021Cross-border pledges: custody across jurisdictions
When pledging listed shares across borders, custody jurisdiction shapes both lender comfort and borrower flexibility — understanding the mechanics matters.
Read → Cross-Currency · May 10, 2021Cross-Currency Stock Loans and FX Risk
Borrowing in a currency different from your pledged shares introduces FX risk that must be understood and managed from the outset.
Read → Recourse · February 15, 2021Choosing a Recourse Profile That Fits Your Goals
Full recourse, limited recourse, and non-recourse structures each carry different risk and pricing implications — the right choice depends on your specific circumstances.
Read → Mechanics · December 7, 2020Refinancing a Maturing Stock Loan
When a stock loan approaches maturity, borrowers have more options than a simple repayment — refinancing can extend liquidity on favourable terms.
Read → Custody · October 12, 2020Custody and Bankruptcy-Remote Structures, Explained
Bankruptcy-remote custody structures protect collateral from a lender’s insolvency, a safeguard sophisticated borrowers increasingly demand.
Read → Mechanics · August 24, 2020Dividends, Corporate Actions and Your Pledge
Understanding how dividends and corporate events interact with a pledged share position protects your economics throughout the loan.
Read → Recourse · May 18, 2020Why Non-Recourse Matters in a Sell-Off
The distinction between recourse and non-recourse lending becomes starkly clear when markets fall sharply — and it can mean the difference between a managed outcome and a financial crisis.
Read → Markets · March 30, 2020Drawing Liquidity in a Market Drawdown
Market drawdowns close off many conventional sources of capital precisely when liquidity is most urgently needed — and securities-backed lending can remain open.
Read → Risk · December 9, 2019Concentrated Single-Stock Risk and the Case for Borrowing
Holding a large proportion of personal wealth in one company’s shares creates risks that are often underestimated — and securities-backed borrowing can help manage them.
Read → Risk · September 30, 2019Liquidity, Free Float and Borrowing Capacity
A share’s liquidity and free float are central to how much a lender will advance against it — and why some positions attract higher LTVs than others.
Read → Risk · June 17, 2019How Margin Calls Work, and How to Avoid Them
Margin calls can force asset sales at the worst possible moment. Understanding how they arise is the first step to avoiding them.
Read → Loan-to-Value · February 25, 2019Reading Volatility into Loan-to-Value
Loan-to-value ratios are not arbitrary. Volatility is the primary variable lenders use to calibrate how much to advance against any given share.
Read → Fundamentals · November 19, 2018The Anatomy of a Securities-Backed Facility
From term sheet to drawdown, each stage of a securities-backed facility has distinct mechanics. A clear map of the process reduces surprises for new borrowers.
Read → Fundamentals · September 10, 2018Lombard Lending Against Listed Equity, Explained
Lombard lending has financed commerce and statecraft for centuries. Today it underpins sophisticated securities-backed facilities for substantial shareholders.
Read → Comparison · May 22, 2018Stock Loan vs Margin Loan: The Real Differences
Stock loans and margin loans both use listed shares as security, yet they serve different clients and carry very different risk profiles.
Read → Fundamentals · February 12, 2018What Lenders Look for in Eligible Collateral
Not every listed share qualifies as collateral. Understanding what lenders evaluate helps borrowers prepare a stronger application.
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