BNP Paribas will pay a major fine to settle an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over its employees’ use of messaging applications that broke record-keeping rules. The French bank and its broker-dealer division have reached proposed resolutions with the respective regulators to resolve the probes. The proposed resolutions are subject to approval by the CFTC and SEC, the bank said.
Although the bank has not specified the amount of fines it expects to pay as part of its proposed resolutions, disclosed that it has also set aside €125 million, or about $137.3 million, for litigation.
The SEC and CFTC have been probing BNP Paribas Securities Corp., the bank’s U.S. registered broker-dealer, over its “compliance with records preservation requirements relating to the use of unapproved electronic messaging platforms for business communications,” according to the earnings report.
Its parent, BNP Paribas SA, has also been under investigation by the CFTC over its compliance with requirements to maintain electronic records.
Eleven of the world’s largest banks and brokerages in September agreed to approximately 1.8 Billion in settlement fines.
JEFFREY NEWMAN IS A WHISTLEBLOWER WHO REPRESENTS SEC AND CFTC WHISTEBLOWERS. HE CAN BE REACHED AT 617-823-3217 OR AT JEFF@jEFFNEWMANLAW.COM
