Morgan Stanley fined bankers millions of dollars over WhatsApp use

Morgan Stanley will fine employees ranging from a few thousand to over a million dollars for using messaging platforms such as WhatsApp for work communications. This was reported to Reuters by sources.

Photo: depositphotos 1

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Amount of fines

Fines ranged from a few thousand dollars for some employees to $1 million for others.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the amount of the fine was determined by factors such as the number of messages sent, length of service and whether employees had already received a warning.

The company took the move after the lender agreed to pay $200 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2021 to resolve investigations into employee communications on messaging platforms that were not approved by the company.

Wall Street’s self-regulatory body, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, requires broker-dealers to keep records of all business-related communications. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was checking to see if lenders monitored employees’ digital communications.

In September, the SEC fined 16 financial firms, including major global banks, totaling $1.8 billion after employees negotiated deals on their personal devices and apps.

The investigation has since expanded beyond broker-dealers to investment funds and advisors, according to four people familiar with the investigation, the agency reported in October.

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