Financial services firms are struggling to effectively monitor their employees’ use of social media messaging, despite designating communications surveillance as a priority investment, according to recent research.
Data from compliance software provider SteelEye reveals that 85% of firms do not include WhatsApp messages in their surveillance efforts. The situation is even graver for other messaging platforms; only 9% are monitoring Slack, and a mere 3% are tracking Signal. More well-known platforms are also monitored by only a small fraction of firms—25% are keeping an eye on Zoom, whereas 40% are capturing messages on Microsoft Teams and Bloomberg Chat.
SteelEye’s Compliance Health Check report, which surveyed 170 compliance professionals, arrives at a time when regulators are intensifying oversight of off-channel communications among regulated entities. Major firms like Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan have faced multi-million dollar fines for failing to adequately monitor the use of personal devices.
The report highlights that 20% of respondents identified the challenge of keeping up with regulatory changes as their biggest hurdle in fulfilling compliance obligations. Notably, 76% of financial services firms now rank surveillance among their top two investment priorities for the next year, with 41% specifically focusing on communications surveillance.
“There remains a lot of work to be done by financial services firms to ensure they do not fall foul of regulatory action,” said Brian Lynch, president of SteelEye Americas. “This is a growing challenge for firms, and it’s unlikely to slow down anytime soon with new communication channels constantly emerging. It’s encouraging to see firms prioritizing communications surveillance and acknowledging the important role of technology in addressing this issue. Robust technology and data are essential for building future-proof compliance processes and avoiding unnecessary regulatory scrutiny and costly fines,” Lynch added.