Options group slams SEC short-sales ban

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The SEC's emergency order to ban short sales of many financial stocks will have "potentially disastrous effects" on the U.S. listed options market, the head of the Options Clearing Corp said on Friday.

"As written, this order does not allow for an options market maker exemption to ensure liquid and orderly markets starting on Monday. This will have dire consequences on the U.S. equities markets," Wayne Luthringshausen, chairman and CEO of the OCC, said in a statement.

The OCC is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization.

(Reporting by Ros Krasny)