01:02 PM EDT, 09/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates to include CIBC's settlement with CFTC and its response from seventh paragraph onwards.)

CIBC's (CM) CIBC World Markets and CIBC Private Wealth Advisors affiliates as well as Stifel Financial's ( SF ) Stifel Nicolaus unit agreed to pay a combined $47 million to resolve allegations of recordkeeping failures, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday.

The CIBC affiliates and Stifel Nicolaus agreed to pay $12 million and $35 million, respectively. The regulator also fined Invesco Distributors, Glazer Capital, Intesa Sanpaolo, Canaccord Genuity, Regions Securities, Alpaca Securities and Focused Wealth Management. The seven firms agreed to pay fines for a cumulative total of more than $41.2 million.

The SEC said the units failed to maintain and preserve required records related to their broker-dealer and investment adviser businesses.

In these off-channel communications, personnel communicated externally and internally by text messages and/or other unapproved written communications platforms using their personal devices, according to the SEC.

The regulator said it uncovered the alleged misconduct after starting a risk-based initiative to look into the use of off-channel and unpreserved communications at broker-dealers and registered investment advisers.

Stifel declined MT Newswires' request for comment.

CIBC separately also entered a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for related conduct to pay a civil monetary penalty of $30 million.

CFTC said Tuesday it also ordered CIBC to cease and desist from further violations of recordkeeping and supervision requirements.

"Throughout this process, CIBC offered its full cooperation to both regulators and took immediate steps to implement remedies internally," CIBC told Newswires Tuesday.

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