
Asset managers are cracking down on the use of unauthorized communication tools such as WhatsApp to discuss market matters.
Regulators including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have already been slapping Wall Street banks with fines with some setting aside a sum of over $1 billion to cover regulatory penalties.
Last year, JPMorgan was fined $200 million when it admitted it failed to keep track of employees to using WhatsApp and other platforms to dodge federal record-keeping laws.
Reuters reports sources at several investment firms including Amundi, AXA Investment Management, BNP Paribas Asset Management and JPMorgan Asset Management, said policies have been deployed to maintain compliance between staff and client communications.
Last month, the U.K’s data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), called for a review of politicians using WhatsApp, private emails and other messaging after an investigation found “inadequate data security” during the pandemic.