Ontario Securities Commission Issues Temporary Order Prohibiting Short Selling of Certain Financial Sector Issuers

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today issued a Temporary Order under Section 127 (5) of the Securities Act prohibiting short selling of securities of certain financial sector issuers that are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and are also interlisted in the United States (with the exception of one issuer whose shares are interchangeable).

“We want to make it clear that we will take the appropriate steps necessary to protect our markets and ensure that they are not used for purposes of regulatory arbitrage,” said OSC Chair David Wilson. “We will monitor trading in securities of other Canadian financial issuers and take action if necessary.”

This Order is being issued as a precautionary matter with respect to short selling of the securities of financial sector issuers subject to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) short selling order.

The OSC took the action in its capacity as lead regulator of the TSX. The action taken by the OSC today supports the action taken by the SEC earlier today. The U.K. Financial Services Authority took similar action this week.

The issuers affected are: Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Investment Company Ltd., Bank of Montreal, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, Kingsway Financial Services Inc., Manulife Financial Corporation, Quest Capital Corp., Royal Bank of Canada, Sun Life Financial Inc., Thomas Weisel Partners Group Inc., The Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Merrill Lynch & Co., Canada Ltd.

This Order will be in effect until October 3, 2008, unless extended by Order of the Commission. The Order is available on the OSC website at www.osc.gov.on.ca.