Why Wall Street Is in Hot Water for Using WhatsApp

Bankers and brokers often say that they’re much more closely regulated than executives in other industries. At least in terms of their business communications, they have a point. An ongoing investigation focuses on finance professionals shirking government rules by using texts and personal emails to conduct business.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed in December to pay $200 million in fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and admitted that its employees used WhatsApp and other platforms to communicate in ways that circumvented federal recordkeeping requirements. HSBC Holdings Plc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. have all since indicated they’re ensnared in an industrywide probe into whether employees use unapproved methods of communication and aren’t saving messages.