HSBC disables text functions on staff phones as regulators probe unauthorised communications

HSBC is disabling texts on its staff’s work phones, following regulatory investigations into unauthorised business communications.

That is according to Bloomberg News, who said bank employees will be unable to send or receive text messages on company-issued phones, the report said.

The ban comes after HSBC paid $45m (£55m) in fines to US regulators in May over its failure to monitor employees’ communications through unauthorised messaging services such as WhatsApp.

The new measures will reportedly apply across the firm, with HSBC already blocking staff from using WhatsApp on work phones.

A minority of staff is set to be exempt from the ban on phones where their activity is archived.

“Banks use a wide range of approved channels to communicate in compliance with regulatory obligations,” a spokesperson for the bank told media.

“HSBC, like many other banks, reviews and adjusts functionality on its corporate devices as needed.”

The bank is one of several giants to crack down on unauthorised messaging this year.

Morgan Stanley slapped some bankers with large fines, which could go as high as $1m (£820,000), for using WhatsApp to conduct business, the Financial Times reported in January.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has handed out $1.8bn (£1.5bn) in fines to 16 banks over private messaging, including Goldman, Citi and Morgan Stanley, which paid $200m (£164m).

HSBC is disabling texts on its staff’s work phones, following regulatory investigations into unauthorised business communications.

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