Nasdaq Is Well-Prepared to Withstand the Coronavirus Pandemic, Says Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman

As the global markets grapple with the impact of the novel coronavirus, Nasdaq President and Chief Executive Officer Adena Friedman reiterated that Nasdaq is well-equipped to support its exchange, as well as other global exchanges using the company’s market technology, during this unprecedented health crisis.

“Nasdaq and all of the markets are well prepared for what’s happening. Hopefully, we will continue to see that we can start to recover in a sustainable way in the weeks and months ahead of us, and the markets – and the plumbing of the markets – will continue to serve the economy well,” Friedman said in a virtual interview for The Economic Club of Washington D.C.

Friedman spoke with David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group and president of The Economic Club of Washington D.C., offering insight into how Nasdaq is working through the pandemic and how it is helping markets around the world.

Nasdaq, which operates its own exchange, also provides market technology to 120 markets around the world, as well as market surveillance technology to 160 broker-dealers and 50 global markets.

“We have a partnership with these other exchanges, so as they have been facing unprecedented levels of volatility and volume themselves, we’ve been making sure that they feel entirely confident in the functioning of their markets as well,” Friedman said. “We are very proud of the fact that our technology has done quite well, both for our own markets but also for our clients throughout this process.”

Freidman remains adamant and passionate in her belief that markets should stay open during this time, especially as companies are increasingly looking to access capital to address liquidity needs. Temporarily shuttering the markets would also break the trust of investors who have put their hard-earned savings into the markets and wouldn’t be able to reach it at a moment when they may need it the most, she said.

“It’s really important to keep the markets operating to allow investors to express themselves, and, frankly, all of the markets today are very interconnected. If you try to close the equities market, it will have a material impact on the fixed income markets, the derivatives markets and others,” Friedman said. “It’s an interconnected system that works well … in our view keeping the markets open and operational is paramount.”

The pressure to close the markets has subsided recently, particularly after the Federal Reserve pledged to do whatever it takes to help the American economy, recently announcing unlimited quantitative easing measures to confront the COVID-related disruptions to the markets.

Friedman, who serves as a director for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, believes that the Fed has been “instrumental in stabilizing the liquidity” in some of the fixed income markets, such as investment-grade debt markets, the commercial paper markets and repo markets.

“The Fed has not only done a great job at putting their capital to work but also looking at the rules and enabling the banks to commit more capital to the markets,” Friedman said.

As companies and individuals work to get safely through this health crisis, Friedman detailed what Nasdaq is doing to mitigate the risks COVID presents to communities and businesses. The company is committing $5 million in cash and another $1 million as in-kind donations to COVID-19 response and relief efforts. Nasdaq is partnering with three organizations, the Opportunity Fund’s Small Business Relief Fund, the World Central Kitchen and COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, to address the needs of small businesses, food safety and global health. 

“It’s important to recognize that we all have a role to play in society,” said Friedman. “Let’s make sure that we’re doing the right thing for the community around us.”

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