Morgan Stanley has been fined over £5.4 million after traders at the bank used WhatsApp on privately-owned phones to discuss energy market transactions.
UK energy watchdog Ofgem found that while Morgan Stanley has rules in place which prohibit the use of WhatsApp for trading communications, the bank did not take "reasonable steps" to make sure its traders were complying with its internal policies or legal requirements.
The regulator said that wholesale energy traders at Morgan Stanley had breached its rules by not recording and retaining electronic communications between January 2018 and March 2020.
The penalty is the first of its kind to be issued in Great Britain under legal requirements to record and retain electronic communications relating to trading wholesale energy products.
The breach was revealed after the bank responded to information requests made using powers Ofgem has under the REMIT Enforcement Regulations.
The bank admitted to the breaches and has taken steps to ensure they do not happen again.
As Morgan Stanley fully co-operated with Ofgem's investigation and agreed to settle the case, the fine includes a 30 per cent discount.
“This fine sends a strong message to market participants that they must comply with all REMIT rules or face enforcement action," said Cathryn Scott, regulatory director of enforcement and emerging issues at Ofgem. “It is unacceptable that MSIP failed to prevent electronic communications which could not be recorded or retained.
"It risks a significant compromise of the integrity and transparency of wholesale energy markets"
Latest News
-
Financial services ‘could to more’ to stop economic abuse, says UK Finance
-
6,000 bank branches closed since 2015, finds Which?
-
FCA charges nine in crackdown on 'finfluencers'
-
Standard Chartered and Mastercard complete tokenised carbon asset trial
-
Tandem announces new CTO
-
Bank of Ireland to wind down £2 Billion UK corporate lending business
Safeguarding economies: DNFBPs' role in AML and CTF compliance explained
Join FStech editor Jonathan Easton, NICE Actimize's Adam McLaughlin and Graham Mackenzie of the Law Society of Scotland as they look at the role Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) play in the financial sector, and the challenges they face in complying with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations.
Ransomware and beyond: Enhancing cyber threat awareness in the financial sector
Join FStech editor Jonathan Easton and Proofpoint cybersecurity strategist Matt Cooke as they discuss the findings of the State of the Phish 2023 report, diving into key topics such as awareness of cyber threats, the sophisticated techniques being used by criminals to target the financial sector, and how financial institutions can take a proactive approach to educating both their employees and their customers.
Click here to read the 2023 State of the Phish report from Proofpoint.
Click here to read the 2023 State of the Phish report from Proofpoint.
Cracking down on fraud
In this webinar a panel of expert speakers explored the ways in which high-volume PSPs and FinTechs are preventing fraud while providing a seamless customer experience.
Future of Planning, Budgeting, Forecasting, and Reporting
Sage Intacct is excited to present FSN The Modern Finance Forum’s “Future of Planning, Budgeting, Forecasting, and Reporting Global Survey 2022” results. With participation from 450 companies around the globe, the survey results highlight how organisations are developing their core financial processes by 2030.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories