New York CNN —Wells Fargo and a slew of other Wall Street firms admitted Tuesday to using WhatsApp, Signal and other messaging platforms for “off-channel” communications in violation of federal recordkeeping requirements.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said the Wall Street firms acknowledged wrongdoing and have agreed to pay penalties totaling $289 million.
The SEC said the firms violated federal securities laws by failing to maintain or preserve the “substantial majority” of these communications.
Another regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, also fined four of the same Wall Street firms for failing to maintain records and failing to supervise matters related to their businesses.
The CFTC hit Bank of Montreal with a $35 million fine and a $75 million fine each for BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Wells Fargo.
Persons:
Wells, Houlihan Lokey, ” Sanjay Wadhwa
Organizations:
New, New York CNN, Securities, Exchange Commission, Wall Street, SEC, BNP, SG Americas, BMO Capital Markets, Mizuho Securities, SMBC Nikko Securities, Futures Trading Commission, CFTC, Bank of Montreal, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale
Locations:
New York, Wells Fargo, SMBC Nikko Securities America, WhatsApp