Short sellers are will to bet, at least for now, that the worst of the banking earning crisis is over. Short interest in a number of large financial companies fell sharply for the period ending July 15.

Shares sold short in AIG (AIG) fell 91% to 21.9 million. The short interest in Bank of America (BAC) fell 18% to 89.7 million. Shares sold short in Freddie Mac (FRE) dropped 18% to 65.9 million. The short interest in Wells Fargo (WFC) was down 11% to 108 million. Shares sold short in Visa (V) were off 42% to 18.9 million.

Among regional banks, shares sold short in KeyCorp (KEY) fell 31% to 25.1 million. The short interest in Regions Financial (RF) dropped 16% to 55.4 million.

The largest increase in short interest among stocks traded on the NYSE was in GE (GE). Share short were up 21.5 million, 15%, to 168.5 million. Concerns about the financial unit of the company and poor results from other divisions including the NBCU entertainment division have pushed GE’s stock down by almost 25% this year.

Most big tech stocks showed drops in their short interests. Intel (INTC) shares short dropped 10% to 79.6 million. Shares short in Microsoft (MSFT) were down 7% to 80.9 million. The short interest in Cisco (CSCO) was down 4% to 56.7 million. The short interest in Dell (DELL) fell 8% to 54.9 million.

Among other widely followed stocks: shares short in Starbucks (SBUX) were up 15% to 54.7 million. The short interest in E*Trade (ETFC) went higher by 41% to 135.4 million. Shares short in News Corp (NWS) were up 15% to 26.4 million. Shares short in Sirius XM (SIRI) were down 45% to 146 million. The short interest in Yahoo! (YHOO) dropped 3% to 47 million.

The short interest in Merck (MRK) rose 8% to 157.6 million. Shares short in AT&T (T) rose 14% to 46.8 million.

Data from NYSE and NASDAQ

Douglas A. McIntyre

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