 "Goldman losses from options glitch in tens of millions -source")
Goldman Sachs Group Inc lost tens of millions of dollars after a computer glitch led to a flood of erroneous options trades last week, a source close to the matter said on Monday.
Last Tuesday, an upgrade of Goldman's internal system affected options on stocks and some exchange-traded funds with symbols beginning with the letters H through L, leading to trades vastly out of line with market prices.
Roughly 80% of the erroneous option-market contracts traded on NYSE Euronext's two option platforms NYSE Arca Options and NYSE Amex options were cancelled, according to a second source close to the situation.
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The two platforms have collectively handled about 23% of equity and index options trading in August, according to data from OCC, formerly known as the Options Clearing Corp, which clears all US-listed options.
NYSE Euronext said it completed a review and appeals process last week but declined to give further details.
The options trading snafu was the first of what was a rough week for trading last week, as it was followed by a three-hour shutdown of the Nasdaq Stock Market due to connectivity issues on Thursday.
Earlier, the Financial Times reported that Goldman Sachs put four senior technology specialists on administrative leave as a result of the trading mishap. The report cited people familiar with the situation.
Goldman Sachs said in a statement on August 20 that it did not face material loss or risk from the problem, but declined to comment further.
Exchange operator CBOE Holdings Inc , which has the largest market share in combined single-stock and index options at 29% so far in August, completed its review process last week, but it did not comment on the number of trades affected.
A spokeswoman for the International Securities Exchange, confirmed that a majority of the trades under review at ISE were adjusted and not canceled. ISE, which is owned by Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG , did not disclose any other details.
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc's which operates three option venues, declined to comment.