Nasdaq to Pay $10 Million for Facebook IPO Screwups

Largest penalty levied against a stock exchange

Nasdaq OMX will pay the largest penalty levied against a stock exchange to settle civil charges over Facebook's initial public offering last year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that the exchange would pay $10 million over mistakes it made in the IPO last may.

The SEC said that Nasdaq's series of "ill-fated decisions" on the day of the IPO led to a series of regulatory violations. More than 30,000 Facebook orders remained stuck in Nasdaq's system for more than two hours when they should have been executed or canceled, leaving investors in the lurch and causing market makers to lose an estimated $500 million.