Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 16, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
BIAF leads Tapeboard's market-wide ranking with an 854.2% annualized borrow fee as of September 16, 2026, with 14 names sitting in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tiers.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on September 16, 2026, BIAF carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 854.2% annualized. ATPC follows at 642.1%, and JZ ranks third at 594.7% annualized.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is BIAF at 854.2% annualized as of September 16, 2026. Fees on today's list span 1.5% to 854.2% annualized; the median is 10.6%. Context matters here: the annualized borrow fee is what a short seller pays to maintain a position, and triple-digit rates like BIAF's typically flag distressed, very-low-float, post-reverse-split, or recently restructured names where shares are nearly impossible to locate in the lending pool — not conventional short squeeze setups. A high fee signals scarcity, not imminent upside.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIAF | 854.2% | −850.6% |
| 2 | ATPC | 642.1% | −638.4% |
| 3 | JZ | 594.7% | −591.1% |
| 4 | EZGO | 217.2% | −213.6% |
| 5 | GCTK | 208.0% | −204.4% |
| 6 | INM | 166.8% | −163.2% |
| 7 | XPON | 143.1% | −139.5% |
| 8 | BENF | 92.8% | −89.2% |
| 9 | NXTC | 79.6% | −76.0% |
| 10 | PARA | 30.9% | −27.2% |
| 11 | WKHS | 28.2% | −24.6% |
| 12 | BBIG | 21.5% | −17.9% |
| 13 | QCLS | 10.6% | −7.0% |
| 14 | BIRD | 10.5% | −6.8% |
| 15 | TOPS | 8.8% | −5.2% |
| 16 | CGC | 8.7% | −5.0% |
| 17 | RCEL | 6.9% | −3.2% |
| 18 | PDSB | 6.3% | −2.6% |
| 19 | CHPT | 5.4% | −1.8% |
| 20 | SYRA | 3.4% | 0.2% |
| 21 | OCGN | 1.9% | 1.7% |
| 22 | EH | 1.8% | 1.9% |
| 23 | CSIQ | 1.6% | 2.0% |
| 24 | ABCL | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| 25 | OPAL | 1.5% | 2.1% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, September 16, 2026 10:50 PM ET. Market-wide ranking across all IBKR-tracked securities. Not investment advice.*
Borrow-Fee Tiers
Tapeboard categorizes annualized borrow fees as normal (under 2%), elevated (2-10%), hard-to-borrow (10-50%), and extreme (above 50%). On September 16, 2026, 14 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. The extreme tier is dominated by ATPC at 642.1%, JZ at 594.7%, and five more names above 79% — rates at which holding a short position for even a few days becomes prohibitively expensive as of September 16, 2026.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays to keep a position open. A high fee reflects scarcity in the lendable pool — when few shares are available to borrow, lenders charge more. Critically, a high fee does not by itself predict a squeeze. Names carrying triple-digit fees are often distressed companies, very-low-float stocks, post-reverse-split names, or recent IPOs where shares are almost impossible to locate; high cost-to-short is not the same as squeeze potential. That is why the borrow fee is weighted at 25% within Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, which also incorporates short interest, price momentum, and volume — see the methodology for the full breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of September 16, 2026, the top three are BIAF at 854.2%, ATPC at 642.1%, and JZ at 594.7% annualized. All three sit deep in Tapeboard's extreme tier, where short positions accrue punishing daily carry costs.
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard defines four tiers: normal (under 2%), elevated (2-10%), hard-to-borrow (10-50%), and extreme (above 50%). Anything at or above 10% annualized is meaningfully expensive to hold short, and extreme-tier rates can erase a position's economics within days.
Where do these borrow rates come from?
Tapeboard compiles IBKR Securities Lending borrow fees daily and refreshes them each evening across the full market universe. These are daily rates, not real-time intraday quotes, and they may differ from rates offered by other brokers.
Data and Methodology
Borrow fee: IBKR Stock Loan Availability data, updated daily each evening, covering the full market-wide universe. Rebate rate: IBKR Securities Lending data, where available; a negative rebate represents an additional cost to the borrower. See today's full squeeze analysis for the 7-factor composite ranking, or the hard-to-borrow leaderboard for the live pillar.
This post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Borrow fees reflect securities-lending conditions reported in IBKR's daily data; they are not real-time intraday rates and may differ from rates at other brokers. A high borrow fee does not constitute a buy or sell signal. Short selling carries unlimited downside risk. Editor: Marcus Reilly.