© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A view of the exterior of the Nasdaq Market site in the Manhattan borough of New York City
By Nora Buli OSLO (Reuters) – Nasdaq Clearing was fined 300 million SEK ($ 36 million) by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) for a failure of an energy operator in 2018 that showed deficiencies in its operations the FI said Wednesday. . The default by Norwegian private trader Einar Aas left a 114 million euro ($ 139 million) hole in clearinghouse resources, forcing other market members to cover the loss in two business days or face themselves to default. Nasdaq Clearing, a Swedish unit of Nasdaq Inc, also violated EU regulations by investing its own funds in derivatives contracts for too long after default, the regulator said. “Along with other deficiencies featured in this decision, these defaults have created unacceptable risks in Nasdaq Clearing’s operations, which could have had a very serious impact on the financial system,” according to the IF’s decision. Nasdaq said in a statement that it had launched a comprehensive program to strengthen its resilience and robustness immediately after default, and that it would review the IF’s decision before deciding on next steps. The operator’s default was caused by large fluctuations in market spreads, when energy prices in the hydro-dependent region fell due to heavy rains, while energy prices in Germany soared due to a rise in the cost of carbon, Nasdaq said at the time. Einar Aas did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the case. In 2018, Aas said that its position in the market had been “too great in relation to the liquidity of the market” and that it was at risk of personal bankruptcy. Later, Aas settled with his creditors, settling the claims against him. ($ 1 = 8.3057 Swedish crowns) ($ 1 = 0.8225 euros)
