CFTC orders four banks to pay $260M for recordkeeping failures

The CFTC issued orders simultaneously filing and settling charges against swap dealer and futures commission merchant affiliates of four financial institutions for failing to maintain, preserve, or produce records that were required to be kept under CFTC recordkeeping requirements, and failing to diligently supervise matters related to their businesses as CFTC registrants. The settling registrants admit the facts detailed in the orders, are ordered to cease and desist from further violations of recordkeeping and supervision requirements, and are ordered to engage in specified remedial undertakings. The settling bank-affiliated swap dealers and/or FCMs are: BNP Paribas (BNPQY) $75M; Societe Generale (SCGLY) $75M; Wells Fargo (WFC) $75M; Bank of Montreal (BMO) $35M. “With today’s actions, the CFTC has now brought enforcement actions against 18 financial institutions, and imposed over $1B in penalties, for violations of the CFTC’s recordkeeping and supervision requirements involving the use of unapproved communication methods,” said Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley. “The Commission’s message could not be more clear-recordkeeping and supervision requirements are fundamental, and registrants that fail to comply with these core regulatory obligations do so at their own peril.”