John Paulson Makes A Bundle Shorting RBS

FT.com (link below) is reporting that Paulson & Co. recently covered their sizable short position in the Royal Bank of Scotland, and banked "at least" 270 million pounds (that's about $380 million dollars USD) in the process.

A regulatory filing shows that Paulson & Co. covered their position on Friday, as they dropped below the 0.25% disclosure limit.

Paulson apparently remains short on both Barclays and Lloyds TSB.

According to Bloomberg.com, Paulson & Co. held a 0.87% short position in RBS as of September 19th - this translated into about 144 million shares. RBS plummeted in recent months, and John Paulson (once again) profited handsomely.

John Paulson made a name for himself (as well as billions of dollars) in 2007 by accurately predicting the rapid decline in the US housing market. Paulson's funds made billions of dollars, which made himself and his investors rich. Paulson quickly became one of the most influential hedge fund managers in the world.

Paulson & Co. has about $36 billion dollars under management. By all accounts, Paulson had another strong year in 2008, and 2009 looks to be off to a strong start.

The news of Paulson's large profits in RBS will surely not go over well in the United Kingdom. Many have spoken out against short-sellers over the past year, and this news will do nothing to quell the rage of people who are looking to blame the market's problems on short-sellers.

Paulson continues to have the Midas touch, and it will be interesting to see where he turns his attention to next.

Source: FT.com - Paulson Reaps 270 Million Pounds Shorting RBS

Filed under: Hedge Fund News