Bank / Credit Union

Regulators fine Wells Fargo, other banks $549M

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August 9, 2023

U.S. regulators are fining Wells Fargo and other banks $549 million for failing to keep proper records of employee communications.

Wells Fargo was fined $200 million, the largest amount of any bank for using messaging app like Signal, Meta's WhatsApp or iMessage to discuss business rather than official communication channels, according to a CNBC report.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has made a major effort to crack down on this practice since 2021 as it has reached settlements with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup with fines reaching more than $2 billion.

"Today's actions stem from our continuing sweep to ensure that regulated entities, including broker-dealers and investment advisers, comply with their recordkeeping requirements, which are essential for us to monitor and enforce compliance with the federal securities laws," Sanjay Wadhwa, deputy director of enforcement at the SEC, said in a press release.

In addition to Wells Fargo, the SEC fined French banks BNP Paribas and Societe General $110 million each. It also fined the Bank of Montreal $60 million.

The Commodity Future Trading Commission, which has fined four banks a total of $260 million, said the practice of using messaging apps made record keeping impossible and was practiced by all levels.

"Employees' use of unapproved communication methods was not hidden within the firm," the CFTC told the news outlet. "To the contrary, certain supervisors — the very people responsible for supervising employees to prevent this misconduct — routinely communicated using unapproved methods on their personal devices."