Charles Schwab & 11 other firms fined $63M by SEC, in ‘off-channel’ texting crackdown
In the latest Securities and Exchange Commission off-channel communications sweep, 12 firms will pay hefty fines because they used unapproved communication methods, such as WhatsApp, and failed to properly keep records.
By Lynn Cavanaugh |
January 17, 2025 at 12:29 AM
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Charles Schwab offices in Baltimore, MD. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced charges against Charles Schwab, Blackstone and seven other investment advisers, as well as three broker-dealers, for allowing their employees to use unapproved communication methods, such as WhatsApp and LinkedIn, to send and receive messages that were required to be preserved, in violation of recordkeeping provisions of federal laws.
“When firms fall short of those obligations, the consequences go far beyond deficient document productions; such failures implicate the transparency and the integrity of the markets and their participants, like the firms at issue here,” said Sanjay Wadhwa, Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
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