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Compliance for Financial Services

Comprehensive, Turn-Key Compliance for Unified Communications

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Overview

The financial services industry is shifting core business communications infrastructure to cloud-based collaboration platforms, which has significantly accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Video conferencing, collaboration chat, and other unified communications tools from Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, RingCentral, Zoom, and LogMeIn are now commonplace at firms.
FINRA, FCA, CFTC, SEC, and other global regulators have outlined requirements for the capture, retention, and supervision of business communications. These requirements have extended beyond traditional email and text-based communications, to incorporate audio, video, and collaboration data. As a result, it is critical for financial services firms to apply compliance, security, and supervision controls on these rapidly expanding business communication channels.
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Regulatory Obligations for Archiving and Supervision

Demonstrating the ongoing importance of these compliance requirements, financial services firms were subject to over $150 million in communication monitoring fines in 2019.

  • SEC Rule 17a-4: Retain copies of all business communications sent and received in a non-rewritable, non-erasable format
  • FCA/MiFID II: Record telephone conversations and keep copies of electronic communications for 5 years, with the obligation to periodically monitor these records
  • FINRA Rule 3110: Supervise electronic communications related to the firm’s investment banking and securities business
  • FINRA Rule 4511: Store relevant records in a non-rewritable, non-erasable format

Regulators such as the CFTC, IIROC, ASIC, and MAS, have equivalent mandates for the retention, storage, and supervision of electronic communications, including audio recordings.

FINRA’s Statements on Video Conferencing and Collaboration

Recently, FINRA has emphasized that its rules for capture, retention and supervision of electronic communications extend to collaboration platforms.  In its 2019 Report on Examination Findings and Observations FINRA stated that if a firm permits its associated persons to use a particular application—for example, an app-based messaging service or a collaboration platform—the firm must preserve records of business-related communications and supervise the activities and communications of those persons on the application.

As part of FAQs issued in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, FINRA stated “if a registered representative during [a] video or audio conference uses the chat or instant messaging feature of the platform or presents slides or other written (including electronic) communications, the member must keep records of these written communications.”  FINRA also emphasized that these collaboration communications are subject to the recordkeeping and supervision requirements of any other business communication.

More information can be found on the evolving regulatory landscape, specifically the regulatory mandates for recordkeeping and supervision of collaboration data.

webex compliance solution for financial services overview

Compliance Challenges presented by Unified Communication and Collaboration platforms

SEC 17a-4 Archiving

Long-term retention + legal-hold for audio, video, collaboration chat, and more

Data Protection

Ability to detect when private or sensitive information is shared within collaboration chat or video conferencing sessions

eDiscovery

Ability to efficiently respond to auditor or legal requests to reproduce communications

Risk Analysis

Ability to detect misconduct, regulatory, corporate compliance, and conduct risks at scale across all content

Capture + Archiving + eDiscovery + Legal Hold

  • Capture + Archiving: 17a-4, WORM compliant archive purpose-built for UCaaS platforms
  • eDiscovery and Review: Search across 100+ parameters to retrieve unified communications, including metadata and within communications (audio and text within video) and specific risks within those communications. 
  • Native Chat Viewer: Chat messages and shared media are displayed in native chat viewer for easy review and searchability
  • Legal Hold Case Management: Manage legal discovery cases and legal hold requests
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Legal Hold Case Management search overview

Supervision across Video, Audio, Collaboration Chat, and ANY Unified Communication

  • Comprehensive Capture: Capture and analysis of all electronic communications within video conferences, including screen sharing, webcam, virtual whiteboard, in-meeting chat, and audio
  • Voice and Visual Supervision. Detect risks in both the voice and visual (whiteboard, screen share, background images) content within video conferences
  • Automated Supervision and DLP: 50+ deep-learning and ML-based policies automate the detection of regulatory, corporate, acceptable use, cybersecurity, PII, and data leakage risks in what was said, shown, or shared. Firms can also create custom, company-specific policies
  • AI-Assisted Workflow: Advance past random sampling or transcript searches – Artificial Intelligence flags risks in communication and assists reviewers by focusing on identified risks improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the compliance review.
  • Realtime Compliance Advice and Training: Realtime guidance and behavior reinforcement that reduces compliance risk during audio, video, and chat conferencing
  • Extensive Integrations: Native integration with RingCentral, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, LogMeIn, Red Box

Security and Compliance for Modern Collaboration Platforms

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Gartner, Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Communications Governance and Archiving, Michael Hoeck, Rizvan Hussain, Jeffrey Hewitt, January 8 2025

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