The investment banking firm, Piper Sandler, has agreed to pay $16 million in civil penalties to settle investigations by U.S. regulators into its record-keeping practices. The settlement, announced on Tuesday, marks the latest development in a broader crackdown on Wall Street's communication compliance.

Piper Sandler to Pay $16 Million in Regulatory Fines over Communication Lapses

The Minneapolis-based firm will pay $14 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and $2 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). These fines stem from probes into unapproved business-related communications conducted on messaging platforms.

“The Company has reached agreements in principle with the staff of the SEC and with the staff of the CTFC to resolve investigations regarding compliance with recordkeeping requirements for business-related communications sent over unapproved electronic messaging channels,” the company commented in the newest filing.

The information about the settlement appeared in the investment bank's latest revenue report for Q2 2024. It shows that the company's revenues reached $340 million, up from $290 million reported the previous year. As a result, net profit was $14.9 million, and earnings per common share (EPS) was $2.19, compared to $0.26 in Q2 2023.

Last month, the CFTC also reached a historically significant settlement with the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, valued at $12.7 billion. This settlement concludes a legal dispute lasting over a year and a half, which includes $8.7 billion in restitution and $4 billion in disgorgement.

The Tip of the $1.7 Billion Iceberg

The action against Piper Sandler is part of a multi-year initiative by the SEC to scrutinize how financial institutions document and preserve employee communications, particularly in light of the shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regulators require banks and investment firms to maintain comprehensive records of staff communications and generally prohibit the use of personal email, texts, and messaging applications for work-related matters.

Since 2021, the SEC has imposed fines totaling over $1.7 billion on numerous firms for similar compliance failures. Major banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have also faced penalties in this regulatory sweep.

The penalty for JPMorgan was particularly large, amounting to nearly $350 million in March this year. However, it turned out that the alleged misconduct occurred over nearly a decade, from 2014 to 2023.

The Piper Sandler case highlights the difficulties broker-dealers and investment advisers face in meeting record-keeping requirements amidst the rising prevalence of off-channel communications. Earlier this year, Oppenheimer settled similar charges with the SEC, agreeing to pay $12 million in civil penalties. Together with Oppenheimer, 15 other broker-dealers and investment advisers also received penalties at that time.