The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced Tuesday that it had fined five affiliates of ING $1.2 million for failing to retain or review millions of emails for periods ranging from two months to more than six years.
The five firms, which are indirect subsidiaries of ING Groep N.V., are Directed Services LLC; ING America Equities Inc.; ING Financial Advisers LLC; ING Financial Partners Inc.; and ING Investment Advisors LLC.
In concluding the settlement, the firms neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings.
FINRA said in announcing the fine that it found that the firms “failed to properly configure hundreds of employee email accounts to ensure that the emails sent to and from those accounts were retained and reviewed at various times between 2004 and 2012.”