AVZ -ARE THE SHORTERS WORRIED, page-50

That isn't true at all! Index funds and other long term holders lend stock out at a fee to people that want to bet against the share price. It doesn't matter one bit whether the asset management company or custodial bank has investors that are long and short. The asset owner has to get the best outcome for their investors in each account, you can't just borrow stock for free!!!

Anyways, for longer suspensions, you may be able to negotiate a lower (or even zero) daily borrow fee, but you can forget about getting your collateral back until the position is closed... your agent lender/PB doesn't want to take an unhedged exposure with unlimited upside (downside to them!)