Nasdaq CEO Takes Firm Line on Facebook Payback Plan
The chief executive of Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said a revamped compensation plan for firms hit by glitches in the stock-market debut of Facebook Inc. represented the exchange company's "definitive" response to the debacle.</br></br>Robert Greifeld, Nasdaq OMX's CEO, reiterated Wednesday that the market operator has "substantial legal and factual defenses" against any litigation that may be brought by market makers and brokers that suffered losses due to Nasdaq OMX's problems bringing Facebook's stock to market May 18.</br></br>Nasdaq OMX late Friday unveiled an expanded $62 million, all-cash plan to pay back such firms for some of their losses after an initial proposal of $40 million, much of it in discounted trading fees, sparked an uproar in June from firms and rival exchanges.</br></br>"We believe this proposal reflects the hard work that went into it," Mr. Greifeld told analysts on a conference call to discuss the exchange operator's second-quarter results. "That's our definitive word on the topic."</br></br>Mr. Greifeld said that by formally submitting the payback plan to regulators, Nasdaq OMX, which prides itself on its technology, aimed to move forward from the embarrassment of the Facebook episode.