Over the last year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been laser-focused on the use of personal devices by employees of the large Wall Street banks to conduct company business. The SEC’s investigations have focused on whether the banks complied with the “books and records” requirement that they preserve all communications that relate to Company business. The SEC has asserted that certain “off-channel” business communications not captured in company systems run afoul of this basic record keeping requirement. Not surprisingly, during the pandemic and with the increase in remote work, the SEC has determined that violations have been widespread.
The SEC’s focus, to this point, has largely centered on broker-dealers. On December 17, 2021, the SEC announced a settlement with a large broker-dealer for its “widespread and longstanding failures” to preserve employees’ off-channel communications in violation of Section 17(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 17a-4(b)(4) and 17a-4(j). The broker-dealer admitted that it failed to preserve business communications on its employees’ personal devices despite being aware that its employees often communicated about business matters on these devices. The broker-dealer agreed to pay $125 million and “implement robust improvements to its compliance policies” to settle the charges.
Then, on September 27, 2022, the SEC issued a press release announcing a $1.1 billion settlement with fifteen broker-dealers and...
Supreme Court has directed all States to probe motor vehicle insurance claims after it was found that fraudulent methods are being employed to cheat insurance firms. Make Us Your Preferred Sourc...