News & Analysis as of

Electronic Communications Broker-Dealer Enforcement Actions

BCLP

SEC Enforcement Sweep Regarding Off-Channel Communications Nets 26 More Settlements and Over $390 Million in Civil Penalties

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On August 14, 2024 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced settled charges against 26 SEC-registered investment advisers, broker-dealers and dually-registered broker-dealers and investment advisers...more

Sullivan & Worcester

SEC and CFTC Continue Their Lucrative Pursuits of Penalizing Unapproved Communication Methods

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SEC's and CFTC's Enforcement Actions Against Multiple Firms - In its continued pursuit of rooting out and penalizing broker-dealers and investment advisers for their failure to prevent unapproved communication methods, the...more

Alston & Bird

SEC and CFTC Rake In $474 Million in Fines for Off-Channel Communications, Rewarding Registrants That Self-Disclosed

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Two and a half years after the first major settlement with some of the world’s largest financial institutions, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) persist in their...more

Stark & Stark

More Than $390 Million in Penalties for Recordkeeping Failures

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against 26 broker-dealers, investment advisers, and dually-registered firms for widespread and longstanding failures to maintain and preserve electronic...more

BCLP

Regulators Impose Extraordinary Fine Amounts in Recent Off-Channel Communications Enforcement Actions

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) have, in two separate recent settled enforcement actions involving off-channel communications (“OCC”), imposed fine...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

What Private Equity Firms Need to Know About the Ongoing SEC Investigation of “Off-Channel” Communications

Over the last several years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been laser-focused on the use of so-called “off-channel communications” in the financial services industry. On the theory that employees’ use of...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

SEC Announces First Off-Channel Communications Enforcement Action Against a Standalone Private Fund Manager

On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first enforcement action against a registered investment adviser (RIA) with no ties to a broker-dealer regarding so-called “off-channel”...more

Guidepost Solutions LLC

Emerging Expectations from the Latest Enforcement Actions Over Off-Channel Communications

Since December 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have levied almost $3.0 billion in penalties for longstanding failures by 39 broker-dealers, swap dealers,...more

BCLP

SEC Enforcement Sweep Regarding Off-Channel Communications

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On February 9, 2024 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced charges against 16 registered investment advisers and broker-dealers for pervasive recordkeeping failures related to off-channel...more

Troutman Pepper

How to Avoid a Similar Fate? SEC Charges Firms With Record-Keeping Violations for Off-Channel Communications

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On February 9, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settlements with 16 firms relating to record-keeping violations stemming from off-channel communications totaling $81 million. The 16 firms were five...more

Mayer Brown

WhatsApp All Over Again: The SEC Brings More Recordkeeping Charges Against Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers for Off-Channel...

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On February 9, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against five broker-dealers, seven dually registered broker-dealers and investment advisers, and four affiliated investment advisers for...more

Thomas Fox - Compliance Evangelist

Messaging App Compliance in Regulated Industries: Lessons from Recent Enforcement Actions

In recent years, regulated industries, particularly broker dealer firms like Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, have faced increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies due to their lack of compliance in policing messaging apps. The...more

BakerHostetler

SEC and CFTC Show No Signs of Slowing Down Enforcement Actions for Financial Firms’ Use of Off-Channel Communications

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The settlements announced by the SEC and CFTC on Monday are a continuation of the regulators’ focus on off-channel communications by employees of registered entities....more

Ballard Spahr LLP

SEC Nears First Settlement With a Credit Rating Agency in Off-Channel Communications Sweep

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Summary - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly nearing a settlement with a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) over its failure to preserve certain credit-ratings...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Do Not Delete: SEC and DOJ Send Serious Messages on Preserving Ephemeral Communications

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Ages ago, hieroglyphics were painstakingly etched into stone. They communicated various types of messages, from fables to business transactions, and lasted thousands of years. Today, we still communicate the same type of...more

BCLP

A Time of Transition for the CFTC

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Over the past year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission continued moving its focus away from practices like spoofing, instead bringing high-profile actions in the crypto space and reaching significant settlements with...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Enforcement appears as messages disappear part II: Steep penalties imposed in personal messaging cases  

On September 27, 2022, 15 broker-dealers and one investment adviser agreed to pay more than $1.8 billion in total civil penalties to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and, for those same companies or affiliates...more

Carlton Fields

What’s Up With WhatsApp and Text Messaging? SEC and FINRA Weigh In

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The SEC requires broker-dealers to maintain originals of all communications received and copies of all communications sent by the broker-dealer relating to its business for three years. The SEC has explained that Rule 17a-4...more

Hanzo

Financial Data Compliance and Enterprise Information Archiving

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When it comes to making sure financial data is safe and meets compliance regulations, understanding the different regulatory bodies and how they affect your organization is a vital first step. Two of the most common...more

BakerHostetler

Businesses Must Contemplate Employees' Use of Messaging Apps on Personal Devices

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An investment management company was recently hit with $200 million in fines for failing to track employees’ use of personal messaging apps, which resulted in the loss of communications that were subject to regulatory...more

BCLP

Financial Professionals Texting Clients? SEC Signals Compliance Failures Can Lead to Significant Penalties

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On September 23, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) entered an Order Instituting Administrative and Cease and Desist Proceedings (“Order”) against a broker-dealer, JonesTrading Institutional Services,...more

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