Citigroup slams Nasdaq payout offer for Facebook IPO disaster
CITIGROUP launched a blistering attack on the Nasdaq stock market yesterday over its botched handling of Facebook’s flotation.
The bank demanded the US Securities and Exchange Commission reject Nasdaq’s compensation offer after Citi and several other firms lost millions of dollars on the listing. It said Nasdaq’s $62m (£39m) offer would only cover a “very small fraction of its total losses” on May’s float, which saw a host of technical glitches and trades delayed by hours.
“Nasdaq’s reckless, profit-oriented decision to open trading despite system malfunctions, insufficient failover procedures and a known design flaw resulted in rampant confusion and further system failures,” Citigroup said, demanding Nasdaq pay the entire cost of its and others’ losses.