NASDAQ SUPPORTS SEC SECURITIES SYMBOL PLAN

Posted November 10, 2008

NEW YORK -- The Nasdaq Stock Market supports the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of a plan that establishes a process for reserving, selecting, and allocating securities symbols. The plan will permit Nasdaq to list companies with symbols of one to five characters in length.

“The SEC’s action provides freedom of choice among issuers and promotes competition among exchanges,” says Adena Friedman, Executive Vice President, Nasdaq OMX. “The approved plan removes artificial barriers that were not clear to issuers and reduces investor confusion. The plan allows issuers switching among competing markets to have the option to retain their trading symbol, often a critical part of their brand. We applaud the SEC for taking a leadership role in establishing a plan of selecting and allocating securities symbols.”

Of the two plans considered by the SEC, the SEC approved one that was filed by Nasdaq and four other US exchanges and financial entities, with minor changes the Commission deemed necessary. The new plan approved by the SEC allows US exchanges to have equal rights to all available symbols. In addition, the plan enables companies switching from one listing market to another to retain their existing securities symbol.