All off-channel communications articles
-
News Brief
SEC issues $63M in fines to dozen firms in ongoing off-channel comms sweep
Twelve more firms have been dinged with fines by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to properly supervise employees who used off-channel communications to conduct company business. In this latest round of enforcement actions, nine investment advisers and three broker-dealers will pay a total of $63 million.
-
News Brief
Regs levy $120M in fines over off-channel comms with two firms avoiding penalties
Regulators continue to hammer firms with fines for violating rules regarding the use of unapproved communication methods by employees, issuing $120 million in fines this week. And for the first time, two firms were not fined because they self-reported their violations.
-
News Brief
SEC nets $1.3M in off-channel comms sweep against municipal advisory firms
Fines for off-channel communications use by employees just keep on coming, with 12 municipal advisory firms fined a total of $1.3 million in the latest Securities and Exchange Commission sweep.
-
News Brief
Six credit rating firms to pay $49M for off-channel comms violations
Six credit rating agencies will pay $49 million in fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission for allowing their employees to communicate on company business using nonapproved communication channels like Whats App and WeChat.
-
News Brief
Latest off-channel comms sweep nets SEC, CFTC $477M in fines
Two regulators doled out more than $477 million in fines on a new group of broker-dealers, investment advisers, and swaps dealers that failed to maintain and preserve the electronic communications of their employees, bringing total such fines issued since 2021 to $3.2 billion.
-
Premium
Off-channel comms ‘hottest’ SEC mock exam topic, survey finds
Nearly three-quarters of compliance professionals at investment firms have made testing for off-channel and electronic communications surveillance a top priority in mock exams, according to a new poll, with more than half calling it the “hottest” topic of discussion.
-
Premium
SEC, CFTC actively probe off-channel comms violations, top officials say
Two senior officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission described how both agencies are committed to rooting out off-channel communications among registered entities for the long term.
-
Premium
Survey: Social media remains vexing issue for financial firms
A recent survey by surveillance technology firm SteelEye found most financial institutions do not monitor their employees’ use of social media or factor in market risks exacerbated by social media posts.
-
Opinion
Five reasons I’m excited for CW’s Financial Crimes Summit
Compliance Week’s Financial Crimes and Regulatory Compliance Summit will feature more than 50 prominent speakers representing government agencies, regulators, banks, investment advisers, and more tackling the top-of-mind risk areas facing the financial services industry.
-
Premium
Q&A: Zoom privacy chief on communications compliance product
Zoom Chief Privacy Officer Lynn Haaland discusses with Compliance Week the market forces that led the company to offer Zoom Compliance Manager, which helps firms handle off-channel communications issues on the platform.
-
Premium
CW2024 panelists discuss BYOD at center of off-channel comms debate
The Department of Justice’s renewed scrutiny toward a corporation’s approach to the use of personal devices strengthens the case for companies to get away from bring your own device, a panelist at Compliance Week’s 2024 National Conference argued.
-
Premium
SEC official breaks down agency calculus for off-channel comms penalties
Sanjay Wadwha, deputy director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, discussed the agency’s rationale for issuing widely disparate penalties for off-channel communications recordkeeping violations, as well as violations of its amended marketing rule.
-
News Brief
Senvest latest rapped by SEC over off-channel comms
Registered investment adviser Senvest Management agreed to pay $6.5 million as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission addressing admitted off-channel communications violations and separate code of ethics failures.
-
News Brief
CFTC dings U.S. Bank, Oppenheimer over off-channel comms violations
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced settlements with U.S. Bank and Oppenheimer & Co. for admitted recordkeeping and supervision failures regarding employee use of off-channel communications for conducting business.
-
News Brief
Ameriprise expecting $50M SEC fine over off-channel comms
Ameriprise Financial disclosed it recorded a $50 million accrual related to the resolution of a Securities and Exchange Commission probe into use of off-channel communications by its employees for conducting business.
-
Resource
e-Book: Solving the off-channel communications conundrum
Firms attempting to meet regulatory requirements for monitoring employee use of off-channel communications for business purposes face a bedeviling number of obstacles.
-
News Brief
Latest SEC off-channel comms sweep nets $81M in fines against 16 firms
The ongoing off-channel communications sweep by the Securities and Exchange Commission netted 16 more broker-dealers and investment advisers, with the latest wave of fines totaling more than $81 million.
-
Premium
Table: SEC, CFTC off-channel communications penalties
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission have combined to levy nearly $3.5 billion in penalties (so far) against firms and their affiliates in response to recordkeeping failures regarding employee use of off-channel communications for business purposes.
-
Webcast
CPE Webcast: Crafting policies for digital dialogue
This webinar will shed light on the critical need for heightened awareness regarding business communications in the financial sector.
-
News Brief
DOJ, FTC re-emphasize requirement to retain business communications
The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission updated language contained in standard preservation letters regarding the maintaining of business communications made via collaboration tools and ephemeral messaging apps.