Morgan Stanley bankers accused of using the WhatsApp app for business purposes have been hit with hefty fines of up to US$1 million.
The employer justified its decision by the fact that communications via instant messaging are not authorized in the trading rooms, according to what the newspaper “Les Echos” reported on Monday.
Morgan Stanley seems to want to learn from its past mistakes, since the bank was fined US$200 million in 2022 by financial regulators for lack of control over personal messaging, including WhatsApp.
Banks have an obligation to keep records of all professional communications, which seems increasingly difficult with the various means of communication, in particular social networks.
As a reminder, Morgan Stanley had dismissed in 2020 two brokers found at fault, while two other banking institutions had taken the same decision against employees for similar facts.
