Robert Greifeld

Financial regulators are taking a harder line on exchanges amid concerns over their ability to police the markets they operate, as the SEC prepares to hit one with a record penalty.The deeper scrutiny has prompted some exchange officials to push back against a new regulatory stance that they say leaves them more vulnerable to potential penalties and sanctions.The tussle goes to the heart of the unusual dual role played by the biggest U.S. exchanges. They profit from the trading business they attract and the vast volumes of data generated by that trading. They also act as regulators of the same trading.In a sign of the more aggressive regulatory approach, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been putting the finishing touches on a settlement with Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. over the handling of the Facebook Inc. public offering, according to people involved in the private negotiations. Nasdaq is expected to pay a penalty of about $10 million, the people say. That would be the bigge...

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