Multiple Wall Street brokerages and financial firms have agreed to jointly pay a $0.1 billion fine for failing to properly preserve communication records between employees and clients as required by law, including WhatsApp messages. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have released statements indicating that financial firms such as Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Invesco, and branches under Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce have agreed to pay the aforementioned fine to resolve the investigation. This penalty marks the latest actions in what is known as the 'WhatsApp investigation.' The investigation stemmed from Wall Street financial firms allowing employees to work from home following the outbreak of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, with these employees and clients typically relying on messaging apps like WhatsApp to discuss business. After the fade of the pandemic in 2022, the SEC and CFTC launched a large-scale investigation and imposed penalties as the brokerages failed to comply with legal requirements and properly preserve communication records.