Axos Financial shares fall after Hindenburg takes short position

Double trouble: Trump at his National Doral golf course in Miami. The former US president has two outstanding mortgages worth over US$100mil with Axos Bank. The 10-year mortgages enabled him to finance Trump Tower in New York and National Doral. — AFP

NEW YORK: Short seller Hindenburg Research disclosed a short position in digital bank Axos Financial, alleging lax underwriting standards and glaring issues with its loan portfolio, sending shares down 7.4%.

Hindenburg, a forensic financial research firm, said the bank was exposed to the riskiest asset classes, and had increased its total exposure to the deteriorating commercial real estate (CRE) market, while its peers backed away from the sector.