By now you are of course well aware of the phrase ‘greenwashing’, but beware: there is a new term in town. Last month, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler publicly warned businesses against ‘AI washing’, whereby firms make false claims over their use of artificial intelligence in much the same way others have over their unfounded sustainability assertions. The warning comes after the Federal Trade Commission in February cautioned companies that it would be on the lookout for bogus AI claims.

While many of us will be making tough lifestyle changes this January, from adopting strict fitness regimes to cutting down on calories, there are other changes afoot in the realm of WhatsApp that could impact many of us over the coming days. For regulatory compliance teams at financial institutions worldwide, these could spell an unhappy start to the new year if precautions are not taken.

The dramatic rise of AI intrigued financial markets, the fallout of 2022’s sweep of WhatsApp fines for the major banks continued to spill over, and spoofing continued to make headlines throughout the year. In this blog we take a look at just some of the key news stories which rocked financial markets and regulated industries over the last 12 months.

Last week, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) fined BofA Securities $24 million for more than 700 – yes 700 - instances of spoofing through two former traders, over a period of 8 years.