Piper Sandler to Pay $16 Million to Resolve Record-Keeping Investigations

Piper Sandler has agreed to pay a total of $16 million to settle investigations into its record-keeping practices conducted by U.S. regulatory agencies. The investment banking firm will allocate $14 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and $2 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The penalties are related to investigations into the firm's use of unapproved messaging platforms for business-related communications.

The SEC's investigation is part of a broader, multi-year initiative aimed at examining whether Wall Street banks have adequately maintained records of employees' communications, particularly as remote work became more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regulators mandate that banks keep detailed records of all staff communications, and generally prohibit the use of personal emails, texts, and messaging applications for professional matters.

Since 2021, the SEC has imposed fines exceeding $1.7 billion on numerous financial institutions, including major banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), for similar compliance failures. The fines are intended to enforce adherence to record-keeping requirements, which have become increasingly difficult to meet due to the rise in off-channel communications.

Earlier this year, other firms such as Oppenheimer & Co. and U.S. Bancorp (USB.N) also settled with the SEC over record-keeping issues, agreeing to $12 million and $8 million in penalties, respectively.