Nasdaq says it has added new safeguards since marred Facebook IPO

NEW YORK -- Exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group says it has put new safeguards in place in the year since it botched Facebook’s initial public stock offering.

As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was announcing that Nasdaq had agreed to pay a $10-million penalty in the case Wednesday, Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld issued an “open letter” on the matter.

In the letter, Greifeld said Nasdaq “prepared extensively” for Facebook’s May 18, 2012, IPO and conducted a battery of tests. Still, he said, “the challenges we encountered that day were unprecedented.”

Nasdaq has since created and filled two positions: a chief information officer and global head of market systems.

The firm also changed its system for matching buyers and sellers in IPOs, and established an engineer team to monitor daily system performance as well as an organization focused on testing its trading systems, Greifeld said.

“We will continue to devote significant resources to improve the safety, soundness, and reliability of our markets,” Greifeld said. “We recognize that the cornerstone of a market is investor confidence. As such, our mission remains: developing the best technology, and operating the most reliable and efficient marketplaces in the world -- every day.”

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