Summary via TLDRThis:
Banks with employees covertly texting about official business on apps like Signal, WhatsApp, and iMessage have been caught red-handed.
Wells Fargo was hit with the biggest fines, agreeing to pay the SEC a $125 million penalty and the CFTC another $75 million.
Ars reached out to the firms fined, but most declined to comment.
Only Wells Fargo responded to say, “We’re pleased to resolve this matter.” [
It seems likely the banks will crack down on employees texting, but in case they don’t, the agencies also ordered firms “to retain independent compliance consultants to, among other things, conduct comprehensive reviews of their policies and procedures relating to the retention of electronic communications found on personal devices and their respective frameworks for addressing non-compliance by their employees with those policies and procedures.”
Wells Fargo makes BILLIONS of dollars per year. $125m is pocket change to them. Lock up some of the top executives–and not in one of those nice minimum security prisons, either–and see how quickly they change their tone.
Unsurprisingly Wells Fargo was the worst offender.
There is no such thing as independent consultant if the bank pays its bills.
Literally will cover up misconduct for them going forward.
Anyone know the reason behind such a regulation? What advantage or bonus do banks enjoy by sidestepping it?
Generally it’s price setting:
“Hey, we’re raising our overdraft fees, but we’re afraid we will lose too much business. Any chance you feel like raising your overdraft fees by the same amount on the same day?”
If you remember when computer RAM was incredibly expensive - that turned out to be coordinated price fixing by the biggest companies that make computer RAM.
If you bought a gaming PC between about 2000 and 2010, you’re about an inflation adjusted $400.00 poorer (per computer) due to their illegal price fixing.
Disclaimer: ball park guess numbers and dates.
