According to a statement released on Friday, Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay $200 million to American regulators to end ongoing inquiries into its record-keeping procedures.
The bank announced in a filing that it will settle investigations into employee interactions on messaging services that were not authorized by the business by paying the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $125 million and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission $75 million.
For the penalty, Morgan Stanley had already set aside $200 million of its second-quarter earnings. Separately, Bank of America set aside nearly $200 million to cover fines related to unlawful electronic messages by its employees. Citigroup and Barclays also made similar financial preparations.
As bankers switched to remote working during the pandemic, the SEC has been investigating whether Wall Street institutions have been properly tracking employees’ text messages and emails. The use of personal email, SMS, and messaging services for professional reasons is often prohibited by regulators, who also demand that banks maintain records of worker conversations.
