SEC, CFTC actively probe off-channel comms violations, top officials say
By 
Aaron Nicodemus2024-06-18T15:10:00
Two senior officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) described how both agencies are committed to rooting out off-channel communications among registered entities for the long term.
“The off-channel communications issue will be with us for the next 50 years,” said Zachary Sturges, senior counsel at the SEC, during Compliance Week’s Financial Crimes and Regulatory Compliance Summit June 10 at Fordham Law School.
Texting and phone apps are the way traders under 40 communicate, Sturges said, and firms will have to use every means at their disposal—better technology, better policies, better training—to record and retain their business communications.
Related articles
-
News BriefSix 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.
-
PremiumCW2024 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.
-
PremiumSEC 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.
More from Regulatory Policy
-
News BriefEuropean Commission unveils a simpler, more competitive EU Single Market, but businesses remain skeptical
The EU’s new strategy aims to boost SME growth and cut market barriers, but businesses doubt reforms will happen, and consumer groups fear weaker data protections.
-
News BriefFHFA chief orders Fannie and Freddie to consider crypto assets in mortgage assessments
In another sign of President Donald Trump’s focus on cryptocurrency, the head of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create proposals to consider crypto assets for a single-family home mortgage.
-
ArticleEU, UK agree to reset rules on agrifoods, mergers and carbon trading as part of post-Brexit reset
Four years after Brexit, the U.K. and EU announced a “reset” that will ease barriers to importing and exporting food, drink, and agricultural produce. It may also harmonize rules around carbon emissions trading systems, simplifying compliance for multinational organizations that are large emitters, and enable more young people to gain ...