The fines were dropped because their staff were discussing investment content deals from personal electronic devices and apps.
Competent supervisory authorities in the US imposed fines on 16 companies in the financial services sector, including Barclays, Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS.
The total financial value of the fines was recorded at $1.8 billion (€1.88 billion), as their staff discussed investment content deals from personal electronic devices and apps.
The overall investigation for the mentioned sector was first mentioned last year by Reuters, while it was revealed by many companies in the same sector, as it is an important case for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but also for the Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ), marking one of their biggest collective decisions, according to experts in financial market regulations.
From January 2018 to September 2021, bank staff regularly communicated about business matters such as debt and equity settlement agreements with colleagues, clients, and other third-party advisors using apps on their personal their devices, such as messages, but also the WhatsApp application, as announced by the relevant services.
The banks did not retain most of those personal conversations, violating federal rules that require brokers and other financial institutions to preserve their business communications. This hindered the ability of the competent supervisory authorities to gather evidence in other investigations unrelated to the case, as announced.
“Today’s actions – both for the financial firms involved and the fines imposed – underline the importance of respecting record-keeping requirements: they are inviolable. If there are allegations of wrongdoing or wrongdoing, we should be able to look at the company’s books and records,” said Gerbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Office of Enforcement.
The violations were detected in a total of 16 financial companies and banks with the involvement of their employees at multiple levels, including high-ranking and low-ranking investment bankers, as well as stockbrokers, as announced by the same committee.
In a major victory for the watchdog, the financial firms admitted to breaking federal laws, despite Bank of America and Nomura never admitting or denying the extent of the CFTC’s investigation findings, it has been reported. .
The financial firms that cooperated in the investigation have begun implementing improvements to their related policies and procedures, the SEC announced.
Representatives for UBS, Morgan Stanley and Citi said the banks were pleased to resolve the matter. Bank of America, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Nomura and Credit Suisse declined to comment.
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