Nasdaq was a little too confident leading up to Facebook’s public debut, according to the trading exchange’s CEO.
Robert Greifeld, CEO of Nasdaq, told a conference of corporate directors on Sunday that Nasdaq staffers’ “arrogance” and “overconfidence” were partly to blame for Facebook’s botched IPO, according to the Wall Street Journal. Though the company tested its trading systems beforehand, Greifeld said Nasdaq wasn’t quite prepared for the sheer volume of cancellations in the moments leading up to the event.
Nasdaq’s technical glitches delayed the IPO by a half hour and left some investors confused about whether they received the Facebook shares they bought. Greifeld told the WSJ earlier this month that he and other Nasdaq officials “owe the industry an apology” for the errors. The company also announced that it would offer $40 million in cash and rebates to clients who lost money from the IPO.
Greifeld, who was on a plane and out of touch during much of the glitch-ridden debut, isn’t only concerned about the investors that lost out. He reportedly told a friend earlier this month that he “can’t wait” for his life “to get back to normal” from the plush links at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey.
It may be awhile before things are normal again for Greifeld. The IPO mess has hit investor confidence just as hard as the flash crash of 2010, according to a survey from financial research firm TABB Group. Ordinary investors lost as much as$630 million from the drop in Facebook’s stock price after its debut. Facebook itself is also facing at least 13 lawsuits related to the IPO.
Facebook’s stock price has dropped about 15 percent since it opened at $38 per share on May 18.