Start earning income from your portfolio
You can earn interest on cash, but did you know you can also earn passive income on the securities you hold? With Securities Lending, you lend your securities to us and get paid, while you keep full control of them. We make sure that you are protected with 105% collateral1. You can sell your securities or opt out at any time. Sign up now in just a few clicks.
1Due to price fluctuations, the collateral value may fall below 105% during the day. As a result, it is adjusted daily to the loan value.
How does Securities Lending work?
Securities Lending offers another way for you to earn. It has been used for decades by institutional investors, and we are helping to level the playing field by giving retail investors like you access to it. Here's how it works.
If you're opted in and your securities are in demand, you lend them to us. We are your counterparty.
From here, we do the rest. We lend them to carefully selected borrowers at our risk. You keep full control of your securities, and we protect you along the way.
You earn automatically when your securities are lent. You can sell your securities or opt out whenever you want.
If you opt in, all the shares, ETFs and bonds in your portfolio may be lent out. This means that you can’t choose which securities can be lent.
Earn extra income
Put your securities to work and unlock a potential passive income stream that's fully automated.
You're in control
You have the flexibility to opt in and out , and you can still sell your securities while they are on loan.
Peace of mind
To ensure that you are protected, we cover the loan with collateral.
Good to keep in mind
Before enabling Securities Lending on your account, there's a few things you should know, like borrowers may use your shares to cover open short positions.
Counterparty risk
In the case we become insolvent and can’t return your securities, you’re protected with collateral.
Collateral risk
The value of the proceeds from selling the collateral could be lower than the value of the lent securities in the case we become insolvent.
Market risk
Market price fluctuations still apply to securities that are on loan.
Borrower default risk
As your counterparty, we’ll give you back the equivalent securities or their cash value if a third-party borrower doesn’t return them.
How much
can you
earn ?
Your earnings depend on how in-demand your shares are, how much they're worth and the current lending rates. Opting in does not guarantee that your securities will be lent out. After deducting the costs that we pay to our service providers, we split the borrower’s fee we receive for your securities with you, 50/50. This way, you generate passive income without lifting a finger.
For example:
- Highly liquid stocks can earn ~0.01% to 0.5% annually.
- High-demand or hard-to-borrow stocks can earn 1% to over 10% per year, and in some cases, much higher.
Top in-demand stocks
Below are the average lending rates1 our investors received in August 2026.
| Avantium | AVTX NA | 14% |
| Ondas Inc. | ONDS US | 3% |
| Sivers Semiconductors | SIVE SS | 12% |
| Oryzon Genomics | ORY SM | 20% |
| Obrascon Huarte Lain | OHLA SM | 4% |
1 Average annualised lending rates provided to at least 100 clients. The rates are not a guarantee of future returns. Borrowers may not act in your interest. Investing involves risk of loss. Source: DEGIRO
How am I protected ?
We provide collateral that is worth more than the value of your securities on loan. As your counterparty, in the event that something happens to us, this ensures that you are protected.
- All lent securities are secured with collateral.
- The collateral is 105% of the loan value.
- Due to price fluctuations, the collateral value may fall below 105% during the day. As a result, it is adjusted daily to the loan value.
Start lending in 3 steps
01
Get started
Click ‘I want to opt in to Securities Lending’ in the Product Settings.
02
Opt in
Take the appropriateness test and sign the agreement.
03
We do the rest
You'll automatically earn when your securities are in demand and lent out.
FAQs
Securities Lending is a service that allows you to temporarily lend out securities, such as stocks, ETFs and bonds, to another party in exchange for a compensation payment.
This well-established practice in the financial markets has been used by institutional investors for decades. We are helping to level the playing field by giving retail investors like you access to this service, which provides an opportunity to generate additional income as an add on to your existing investment strategy.
We will only borrow your securities if you have explicitly given your consent by opting in. In our set-up, we are the borrower of your securities, which makes us your counterparty. When we borrow your securities, the legal ownership transfers from you to us. We then lend these securities to carefully selected borrowers in the market. Legal ownership is then transferred to the borrower. In return, we provide you with collateral, and you receive a compensation payment on a monthly basis for active loans.
Your earnings depend on how in-demand your shares are, how much they're worth and the current lending rates. Opting in does not guarantee that your securities will be lent out. After deducting the costs that we pay to our service providers, we split the borrower’s fee we receive for your securities with you, 50/50.
If you opt in, all the shares, ETFs and bonds in your portfolio may be lent out. This means that you can’t choose which securities can be lent.
As you remain the economic owner of the securities, your position will still be exposed to market fluctuations. You can still sell your securities on loan at any time.
No, Securities Lending is entirely voluntary. We will only lend your securities if you have explicitly given your consent by opting in.
The lending rate for each security is based on market demand and changes continuously. The lending rate that we offer is derived from the bilateral wholesale price in the lending market. After deducting the costs we pay to our service providers, we split the borrower’s fee we receive for your securities with you, 50/50. See our Ex-ante Fee document for more information on this.
If you opt in, all the shares, ETFs and bonds in your portfolio may be lent out. This means that you can’t choose which securities can be lent.
There are multiple reasons why market participants might want to borrow securities. For example, it allows them to execute trading strategies and/or to fulfill delivery obligations.
No, if you are opted in to Securities Lending, it doesn’t guarantee that your securities will be lent out.
To opt in to Securities Lending in the platform, go to Settings > Product settings > Securities Lending . Before using the service, you must accept the Securities Lending Conditions and pass the appropriateness test.
If you have any securities on loan, it may take up to three business days for them to be returned. If you want to opt back in, you can do so after a 14-day cooling-off period.
If your securities have been lent out on the record date, you will receive a substitute payment if there is an income distribution on your lent securities, such as a dividend. You’ll see this in your account as a ‘Substitute dividend’. Please note that you may receive this later than you would have if your securities had not been on loan.
When you lend your securities through Securities Lending, you typically lose your voting rights for those securities for the duration of the loan. This is because legal ownership—and thus the voting rights—transfers to the borrower for as long as the securities are on loan.
If a shareholder meeting or vote takes place while your securities are on loan, you will not be able to vote on those securities unless you recall them before the record date. If you inform us five business days before the record date that you wish to exercise your voting rights, we will return the securities, and you will be able to vote. This means that your existing loan will be terminated, and your securities will be unavailable for new loans during this period.
Borrowers are required to provide collateral in the form of financial instruments or cash on each trading day. The collateral is 105% of the loan value. Due to price fluctuations, the collateral value may fall below 105% during the day. As a result, it is adjusted daily to the loan value.
We will transfer the collateral to Stichting Collateral (the foundation). Stichting Collateral will hold collateral for clients who have securities on loan.
No, we safekeep your collateral in a managed environment. The Stichting Collateral will only be able to liquidate the collateral and use the proceeds to buy equivalent securities and subsequently deliver them to you if we are unable to act in accordance with our redelivery obligations as per the Securities Lending Conditions.
Under the ‘Securities Lending’ tab in your ‘Portfolio’, you can see an overview of any securities on loan. This shows the earnings from lending, daily accrual, value on loan and collateral value. Please keep in mind that the values shown and paid may still be subject to reconciliation and therefore could change.
Securities Lending may affect your tax position. Compensation and substitute payments may or may not be subject to taxation. Additional reporting requirements may apply. Holding periods may or may not be interrupted. This depends on factors, such as the tax domicile of the various products, your legal status and your tax residency.
As an execution-only broker, we do not provide tax consultation or advisory services. Therefore, it’s your responsibility to seek advice on any taxes that may be payable in connection with Securities Lending.
Counterparty risk
As we act as your counterparty in the Securities Lending service, counterparty risk applies. In the event that we are unable to fulfil our obligations, these risk mitigation measures are in place to protect you:
- All lent securities are secured with collateral.
- The collateral minimum is 105% of the loan value.
- Due to price fluctuations, the collateral value may fall below 105% during the day. As a result, it is adjusted daily to the loan value.
Collateral risk
The value of the proceeds from selling the collateral could be lower than the value of the lent securities in the event that we become insolvent. In this case, you’d have a claim on our company.
Market risk
As the economic owner of the shares or ETFs, you will remain exposed to the market risk, meaning you could lose money if prices fall.
Borrower default risk
During the lending period, we will transfer the legal title to the securities to ourselves and enter into a Securities Lending transaction with the borrower. If the borrower defaults, we, as your counterparty, will remain obligated to deliver the equivalent securities or their monetary value in cash to you.
Selling risk
You can still sell securities you have on loan, but recalling those securities may cause delays because the borrower might not return them on time. If that happens, we will try to provide equivalent securities from our accounts, but delays can still affect the ability to complete sales. Market conditions or collateral processes may cause further delays, exposing you to extra market risks.
Operational risk
We work with other service providers to support Securities Lending, including the management of transactions, collateral and custody. If these providers encounter problems such as insolvency, or if we experience operational issues, there may be delays or problems with the return of securities and the management of collateral. We will try to minimise these problems, which may require us to close open loans.
For more information, please see the Securities Lending Conditions.
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Note:
Investing involves risks. You can lose your invested funds. This is not investment advice. Consider your knowledge and experience when making investment decisions.
Investing involves risks.