(Bloomberg) — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren wants financial regulators to examine whether a group of banks' new messaging system can be used to circumvent compliance.
Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a letter to six agencies Monday asking whether the service will make it harder to obtain instant messages that can be used in investigations. The system was created by Symphony Communications LLC with funding from 14 financial firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
"My concerns are exacerbated by Symphony's publicly available descriptions of the new communications system, which appear to put companies on notice – with a wink and a nod – that they can use Symphony to reduce compliance and enforcement concerns," Warren wrote.
Warren questioned the purpose of the communications system and noted that instant messages have been used as evidence in past enforcement actions against banks, including the manipulation of benchmark interest rates. She implied that the new tool could be used to hide future illegal behavior.
A Symphony spokesman didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
$66 Million in question
