The Securities and Exchange Commission's order banning short-selling of about 800 financial stocks did not mention some obvious candidates in the Standard & Poor's 500.
Capital One Financial Corp., Fifth Third Bancorp, and M&T Bank Corp., whose short sales exceeded 10% of the shares available for trading as of Aug. 31, were among those omitted from the list. "We've been advised by the SEC that we are subject to the order," Debra DeCourcy, a Fifth Third spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail. John Heine, a spokesman for the SEC, said it may add companies to the list.
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said last week that its list was compiled in an effort "to combat market manipulation that threatens investors and capital markets."
