The U.S. SEC has fined several financial companies more than $100 million, with Robinhood paying the highest fine

Online broker Robinhood has agreed to pay a $45 million fine. It was one of a series of fines levied by U.S. regulators on Monday on financial companies including Blackstone and KKR subsidiaries. Robinhood paid the highest fine in a series of settlements announced by the U.S. SEC, totaling more than $100 million. Robinhood's failures included a 2021 data breach that exposed the email addresses and names of millions of customers, as well as record-keeping issues, including failing to properly record its positions involving fractional stock trades. The broker is on track to post its fifth consecutive quarter of profitability while paying the $45 million fine. In the three months ended last September, Robinhood reported net income of $150 million. The company said it was happy to resolve the issues, calling them historic. "We are well positioned to continue leading the industry and developing innovative products and services that customers want and need," Robinhood general counsel Lucas Moskowitz said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the SEC under the new administration." The SEC also announced Monday that 12 investment advisers and broker-dealers agreed to pay more than $63 million to settle allegations of recordkeeping violations stemming from the use of unofficial messaging systems. The move marks the latest crackdown on Wall Street messaging misconduct by the SEC under Chairman Gary Gensler. Enforcement actions have so far focused on banks, which have agreed to pay billions of dollars in fines for "off-channel" communications. (FT)