The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued a feedback statement confirming it intends to continue to require "enhanced transparency" through disclosure of significant short positions in all equities.

The FSA said it will work "towards agreement on future requirements at an international level rather than introducing a separate domestic regime." In a statement the regulator said it has no plans for "immediate changes to its current short selling requirements".

Currently, the FSA requires disclosure to the market of net short positions of 0.25% or more of the issued share capital of UK financial sector companies or companies carrying out a rights issue.

"The consultation exercise has confirmed our support for enhanced disclosure requirements for significant short positions rather than any direct restrictions on short selling, other than on a temporary basis in exceptional market conditions," said Alexander Justham, FSA director of markets. But we remain committed to securing agreement on as wide an international basis as possible and, in particular, to achieving a harmonised regime within Europe."

The Feedback Statement details the responses the FSA received to its proposals in the February 2009 discussion paper on short selling. The paper looked at the arguments for and against restrictions on short selling. It proposed a disclosure requirement for the short selling of all stocks using an initial disclosure threshold of 0.5% of issued share capital.

Since the paper was published, the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) has issued proposals for a short selling disclosure regime. CESR's proposals for public disclosures of significant short positions are similar to the FSA's but also include the idea of private disclosures to regulators at 0.1%.

The FSA said it is open to the possibility of requiring private disclosures at the lower threshold. The FSA will continue to work with CESR to develop an agreed European disclosure policy for short selling.