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B. G., Opalesque Geneva: The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged 10 broker-dealers and one dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser for widespread and longstanding failures to maintain and preserve electronic communications. The Commission is also looking for other firms that may be guilty of the same violations.
The 11 firms acknowledged that they had violated record-keeping provisions of the federal securities laws and agreed to pay combined penalties of $289m. They include Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, BMO, Mizuho, Houlihan Lokey, Moelis, Wedbush, and SMBC Nikko.
The SEC's investigation uncovered pervasive and longstanding "off-channel" communications at all 11 firms, according to the announcement. The firms admitted that from at least 2019, their employees often communicated through various messaging platforms on their personal devices, including iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal, about the business of their employers.
The firms did not maintain or preserve the substantial majority of these off-channel communications, in violation of the federal securities laws. The failures involved employees at multiple levels of authority, including supervisors and senior executives.
Wedbush Securities Inc., the dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser, was additionally charged with violating certain recordkeeping pr...................... To view our full article Click here
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