By Suzanne Barlyn
Feb 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street's industry-funded watchdog
fined five affiliates of ING Groep NV a total of $1.2 million
for not storing or reviewing millions of company emails,
according to an announcement on Tuesday.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) found
the firms did not properly configure hundreds of employee email
accounts to ensure the messages sent to and from them were
stored and reviewed at various times between 2004 and 2012, the
regulator said.
Securities industry rules require brokerages to store and
review emails for a certain period to ensure compliance with
procedures and to prevent potential wrongdoing. One type of
software glitch affecting four of the ING firms led to nearly
six million emails left unreviewed by supervisors.
ING, which agreed to the fine in a settlement with FINRA,
neither admitted nor denied the allegations but consented to the
entry of the regulator's findings.
The five ING affiliates self-reported the problems to FINRA
beginning in late 2010, an ING spokesman said in a statement.
The issue did not affect ING customers and was not related to
any customer issue.
ING broker-dealers also undertook an extensive review of
their policies, procedures and systems. As a result, those named
in FINRA's action have engaged in "significant efforts" to
improve their email retention and supervisory practices, the
spokesman said.
The five ING affiliates named in FINRA's action are Directed
Services LLC, ING America Equities Inc, ING Financial Advisers
LLC, ING Financial Partners Inc and ING Investment Advisors LLC.
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