Labour MP to press for short-selling ban

LONDON (Reuters) - Short-selling of shares is set to come under fire again this week as Labour MP Frank Field will launch a private member's bill on Monday to ban the practice, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

So far, 34 Labour MPs have signed up to an early-day motion backing the ban.

The move would also mean pension-fund trustees must disclose whether shares they control have been lent to short-sellers.

If passed, the proposed legislation could see the authorities imposing unlimited fines or up to 12 months' imprisonment for traders engaged in short-selling.

A ban on the short selling of financial shares expired on January 16 after being introduced last September amid concerns that the practice -- in which an investor sells borrowed stock in anticipation the price will fall, allowing the stock to be bought back more cheaply -- had exacerbated declines in bank share prices.

(Reporting by Lorraine Turner; editing by John Stonestreet)