Wells Fargo & Co. said that US regulators are investigating its retention of employee communications over unapproved messaging apps, the latest bank to get caught up in an industrywide sweep that’s already yielded over $2 billion in fines.
Probes by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission were disclosed Tuesday in a regulatory filing. They are investigating “compliance with records-retention requirements relating to business communications sent over unapproved electronic messaging channels,” San Francisco-based Wells Fargo said.
Many of Wells Fargo’s biggest rivals have already settled with the SEC and CFTC over the matter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay $200 million in late 2021. A dozen more, including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, reached settlements in September.
HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn said earlier Tuesday that the firm close to reaching a deal with US regulators over the same issue.