Nasdaq Fined $10 million for Facebook IPO Failings

The SEC alleges that a fault in Nasdaq's technology caused a discrepancy in the cross, where the system lagged 19 minutes behind orders received by the exchange. As a result, over 38,000 marketable orders were dropped during the event, which is regarded as one of the largest IPOs on record.
While Nasdaq recognized the problem early, the SEC says, its repairs were inadequate, and it did not realize that the issue lay at the core of the matching system's design, rather than it just being a glitch. A knock-on effect from the system error also affected shares in Zynga.
"This action against Nasdaq tells the tale of how poorly designed systems and hasty decision-making not only disrupted one of the largest IPOs in history, but produced serious and pervasive violations of fundamental rules governing our markets," says George Canellos, co-director at the SEC's Division of Enforcement.
More on Regulation
Doing a deal? Prioritize info security early
Engaging information security teams early in licensing deals can deliver better results and catch potential issues. Neglecting them can cause delays and disruption, writes Devexperts’ Heetesh Rawal in this op-ed.
SEC pulls rulemaking proposals in bid for course correction
The regulator withdrew 14 Gensler-era proposals, including the controversial predictive data analytics proposal.
Trading venues seen as easiest targets for Esma supervision
Platforms do not pose systemic risks for member states and are already subject to consistent rules.
The Consolidated Audit Trail faces an uncertain fate—yet again
Waters Wrap: The CAT is up and running, but with a conservative SEC in place and renewed pressure from politicians and exchanges, Anthony says the controversial database faces a death by a thousand cuts.
Exchanges plead with SEC to trim CAT reporting requirements
Letters from Cboe, Nasdaq and NYSE ask that the new Atkins administration reduce the amount of data required for the Consolidated Audit Trail, and scrap options data collection entirely.
EU banks want the cloud closer to home amid tariff wars
Fears over US executive orders have prompted new approaches to critical third-party risk management.
Friendly fire? Nasdaq squeezes MTF competitors with steep fee increase
The stock exchange almost tripled the prices of some datasets for multilateral trading facilities, with sources saying the move is the latest effort by exchanges to offset declining trading revenues.
Europe is counting its vendors—and souring on US tech
Under DORA, every financial company with business in the EU must report use of their critical vendors. Deadlines vary, but the message doesn’t: The EU is taking stock of technology dependencies, especially upon US providers.