Block trades catch fire with US bankers

Investment banks in the United States are increasingly embracing so-called block trades - direct purchases of large chunks of company shares for resale - which are seen by some as a risky and even controversial move in the wake of the financial crisis.

The trades allow sellers of shares to collect their proceeds immediately while leaving banks to carry the risk, often just overnight, of selling the stock into the market.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1152701/block-trades-catch-fire-us-bankers