US regulators have fined several financial institutions a total of $549 million for engaging in electronic correspondence through unofficial platforms such as Signal, WhatsApp, and IMessage. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused six companies of “long and global violations” and imposed a fine of $289 million. Additionally, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sanctioned five firms, ordering them to pay $260 million. The total amount of fines for such violations has now surpassed $2 billion.
Among the institutions penalized, Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest bank in the United States, received the largest fine of $200 million. The bank’s representative, Lori Kait, has stated that the matter has already been resolved. Other international banks, including French companies BNP Paribas and Societe Generale (each fined $110 million) and Bank of Montreal ($60 million), also faced sanctions. Japanese companies Mizuho Securities and SMBC Nikko Securities, as well as American investment exchanges Houlihan Lokai Moelis and Wedbush Securities, were also included.
In the financial sector, electronic correspondence through official channels is automatically recorded and stored, ensuring transparency in business communication. However, after several scandals involving compromising messages in chats, many employees began to evade safety requirements and turned to platforms like Signal, which allowed them to communicate with colleagues and clients without external control.
In analyzing the activities of 13 Wells Fargo employees, the CFTC emphasized that the use of unofficial communication methods was not a secret within the company. Some managers who were responsible for enforcing compliance with the rules regularly violated them by using personal devices for unofficial correspondence.