- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Kyle Brasseur2024-03-06T18:51:00
Ameriprise Financial disclosed it recorded a $50 million accrual related to the resolution of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe into use of off-channel communications by its employees for conducting business.
The firm said in its latest annual report published Feb. 22 it reached an agreement in principle with SEC staff regarding the matter. With the penalty, Ameriprise would join the growing list of banks, broker-dealers, and investment advisers caught in an enforcement sweep that has already resulted in nearly $3 billion in fines against other financial services firms.
Ameriprise said it recorded the accrual in 2023, after it “responded to SEC document and information requests regarding the preservation of certain business-related communications sent on electronic messaging platforms that have not been approved by the company.”
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT. To continue reading, choose one of the options below.
News and analysis for the well-informed compliance or audit exec. Select an option and click continue.
Annual Membership $499 Value offer
Full price one year membership with auto-renewal.
Membership $599
One-year only, no auto-renewal.
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.
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.
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.
A broker-dealer subsidiary of Toronto-based BMO Financial Group will pay nearly $41 million in penalties to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle allegations that its traders issued misleading disclosures on bonds for three years, causing $19 million in harm to its customers.
A cannabis company agreed to pay $225,000 to settle allegations that funds were temporarily deposited into its year-end accounts for the sole purpose of inflating year-end cash, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
Vince McMahon, the founder and former CEO of WWE, was fined $400,000 and ordered to reimburse the wrestling giant more than $1.3 million to settle charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission that he failed to disclose hush money payments he made on behalf of himself and the company.
