But some participants recognize there is wisdom in having a temporary ban on shorting financial stocks.

Many banks and insurance companies don't know how to value the debt on their balance sheets right now. The vacuum of reliable information can promote short-selling that could harm otherwise stable businesses.

"You want to be able to make a slower, more carefully researched decision," said Stephen Wood, senior portfolio manager at Russell Investments. "It's a global timeout, giving people the ability to value these balance sheets in a less-stressed, less immediate environment."

One possible way to moderate short-selling could be the reintroduction of the uptick rule eliminated by the SEC last year.

After America sank into the Great Depression, Congress decided that investors could short a stock only if it increased in price during the most recent trade.

"It's not meant to prevent anyone from shorting the stock; it just makes it more difficult to short a stock," said David Brady of Brady Investment Counsel in Geneva, Ill. "It causes you to think. And it reduces the temptation of the trader or hedge fund side to start rumors about the company and short the stock."