It seems 2023 has been the year of revenge for retail investors.
Both retail investors and social media have been blamed, at least partially, for the run on banks that sank Silicon Valley Bank and others earlier this year.
As a result, everyone from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon -- two people who rarely agree on anything -- have floated the idea of banning the practice of betting against smaller, regional banks through short selling.
But venture capitalist and television personality Kevin O'Leary disagrees, saying that banning the shorting of regional bank stocks "is the stupidest idea I have ever heard." He went on Fox Business to make his case.
"That is total poopoo. Short selling is very very important, and it is part of the market. It enhances trading volume and reduces fees. This idea has been tried before -- chasing shorts as the evildoers is complete poopoo," O'Leary said.
Looking at the issue from the retail investor side, one can easily see where O'Leary is coming from. Banning short-selling greatly reduces the options investors have to make money on poorly-run regional banks.
But Dimon is looking at the problem from a banking perspective, and the massive run on regional banks -- fueled by viral social media posts -- was enough to give many people pause.
"If someone’s doing anything wrong, if they are in collusion, or people going short and then making a tweet about a bank, they [the SEC] should go after them, and vigorously," Dimon said in a Bloomberg interview.
O'Leary isn't convinced.
"Shorts happen because of idiot managers. People are constantly looking for opportunities for upside down balance sheets... Short sellers are a lot smarter than guys that just go long," O'Leary said.
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