NYSE adds H&R Block to short-selling ban list

The New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday placed H&R Block Inc. on the list of stocks that investors are temporarily banned from short selling.

The ban lasts until Oct. 2, but can be extended. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the measure is designed to protect the integrity and quality of the financial services market and strengthen investor confidence.

The Kansas City-based tax services provider (NYSE: HRB) held $869 million in mortgages as of July 31, according to its first-quarter earnings report filed with the SEC. The mortgages are left over from the company???s Option One Mortgage Co. subsidiary. Block stopped originating mortgage loans at the end of 2007 and sold Option One???s loan-servicing arm in May for $1.3 billion.

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Block joins several other Kansas City-area companies on the list of temporarily banned stocks for short selling. Also on the list are:

??? UMB Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: UMBF)

??? Waddell & Reed (NYSE: WDR)

??? Brooke Corp. (Nasdaq: BXXX)

??? Brooke Capital Corp. (AMEX: BCP)

??? Kansas City Life Insurance Co. (Nasdaq: KCLI)

??? Liberty Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: LBCP)

??? Commerce Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: CBSH)

??? FCStone Group Inc. (Nasdaq: FCSX)

??? NASB Financial Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: NASB)

??? Team Financial Inc. (Nasdaq: TFIN)

Short sales are trades in which investors bet that a stock price will decline. They borrow a stock and sell it, then replace it later, hoping to buy it back at a much lower price.