The messaging service out to dethrone Bloomberg just took a big hit from Wall Street's top cop
Symphony, the messaging system backed by a bevy of big-name Wall Street firms, is changing its policies after meeting with New York's Department of Financial Services, led by acting superintendent Anthony Albanese.
The changes follow concerns, expressed by the NYDFS, that features such as "Guaranteed Data Deletion" could hinder investigations into wrongdoing on Wall Street.
Symphony will now retain copies of electronic communications sent through its platforms for seven years.
The banks will also store duplicate copies of decryption keys with independent entities outside the financial companies, according to a statement from DFS on September 14.
The rulings apply to four financial firms - Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and Bank of New York Mellon - that are regulated by the NYDFS and are part of the Symphony consortium. NYDFS said it thought the requirements should apply to all firms that use Symphony in future.
"This is a critical issue since chats and other electronic records have provided key evidence in investigations of wrongdoing on Wall Street," Albanese said in a statement. "It is vital that regulators act to ensure that these records do not fall into a digital black hole."
The chief executive of Symphony, David Gurle, said in a statement to Business Insider: "The agreement is another positive development on the eve of Symphony's launch. Symphony's platform safeguards against cyber-threats while strengthening customers' compliance operations and facilitating their ability to meet their regulatory obligations."
A spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs told Business Insider: "We are pleased our discussions with the DFS have been constructive and Symphony's messaging solution addresses their concerns and further enhances our process around security and compliance."
The news comes at a critical time in Symphony's development. After months of touting its product and raising cash at a reported $1 billion valuation, the startup had orchestrated an international product launch set to take place on Tuesday in New York and in London.