PARKING

parking. 1. The sale of securities subject to an agreement that the seller will buy them back at a later time for a similar price. • Parking is illegal if done to circumvent securities regulations or tax laws. It is often a method of evading the net-capital requirements of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), which requires a brokerage firm to discount the value of any stock it holds in its own account when it files its monthly report about its net-capital condition. To reach technical compliance with the NASD’s net-capital requirements, a brokerage firm “sells” stock from its own account to a customer at market price, thereby avoiding the discount for reporting purposes. Having filed its report, it can then “buy” the shares back from the customer, usu. at the same price at which it “sold” the stock, plus interest. [Cases: Securities Regulation  40.14. C.J.S. Securities Regulation § 160.] 2. The placement of assets in a safe, short-term investment while other investment opportunities are being considered. — Also termed (in sense 1) stock-parking.

[Blacks Law 8th]