New York (dpa) – Unregulated communication via messenger services such as WhatsApp is costing the US bank JPMorgan dearly.
On Friday, two US authorities imposed fines totalling 200 million dollars because employees had exchanged information about business matters via smartphone apps, meaning the bank was unable to archive its communications as required.
According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is responsible for the futures and options markets, even managers and other executives of JPMorgan evaded control by using messenger services and private email addresses.
The bank admitted that it had broken the rules.
Firms on US exchanges have been required to monitor and store their employees’ business communications for decades.
JPMorgan’s mistakes have complicated several investigations by the agency, said Sanjay Wadhwa, deputy chief of the SEC’s enforcement division.
