Tr?id=566623520170033&ev=PageView&noscript=1

SEC Takes Action Against 11 Wall Street Firms for Record-keeping Violations

Posted on August 18th, 2023 at 11:31 AM
SEC Takes Action Against 11 Wall Street Firms for Record-keeping Violations

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged 11 firms with significant and longstanding failures to uphold electronic communication preservation regulations.

The firms have accepted the allegations detailed in their respective SEC orders and acknowledged their violation of recordkeeping provisions under federal securities laws. In response, they have committed to paying $289 million in penalties while initiating enhancements to their compliance policies and procedures to rectify these breaches. The firms have agreed to pay combined penalties as outlined below.

  • Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, together with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
    and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, agreed to pay a $125 million
    penalty
  • BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and SG Americas Securities, LLC have each agreed
    to pay penalties of $35 million
  • BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Mizuho Securities USA LLC have each agreed to
    pay penalties of $25 million
  • Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. has agreed to pay a $15 million penalty
  • Moelis & Company LLC and Wedbush Securities Inc. have each agreed to pay
    penalties of $10 million
  • SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. has agreed to pay a $9 million penalty

The SEC's investigation unveiled persistent and long-established instances of "off- channel" communications across all 11 firms. According to the SEC, the firms admitted that their employees frequently utilized personal messaging platforms on devices like iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal to discuss their employers' business activities since at least 2019. Most of these communications were not maintained or preserved, infringing upon federal securities laws. Consequently, some of these firms likely hindered the Commission's access to these off-channel communications during various SEC inquiries. These failures extended across different levels of personnel, including supervisors and senior executives.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next
Quotes Bigger

 


It was really fun seeing you fight for us. You have an amazing way of thinking out of the box.


 

Beth M.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

1793209405 Law
October 28, 2026
FINRA Panel Orders Kingswood Capital Partners and Executives to Pay Former Advisor $11.3 Million

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ordered Kingswood Capital Partners LLC, CEO Michael Nessim, and Chief Compliance Officer Mohamed Alsoraimi to pay former advisor Rikin Patel $11,341,369.25.

1793123026 Law
October 27, 2026
CFTC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Crypto Asset Regulatory Framework

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment on a potential regulatory framework for retail commodity transactions involving crypto assets, which the agency calls "CTXs." According to the CFTC's press release, the initiative focuses on Section 2(c)(2)(D) of th...

1793034027 Law
October 26, 2026
FINRA Bars Former Wedbush Broker Over $3.5 Million in Complex ETP Losses

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred former Wedbush Securities broker William H.