On February 9, 2024, the SEC instituted administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings against The Huntington Investment Company, Huntington Securities, Inc. , and Capstone Capital Markets LLC, stating: "From at least January 2019, Huntington employees sent and received off-channel communications that related to HIC’s, HSI’s and Capstone’s broker-dealer businesses and with respect to HIC’s investment advisory business, off-channel communications related to recommendations made or proposed to be made and advice given or proposed to be given. Respondents did not maintain or preserve the substantial majority of these written communications. Respondents’ failures were firm-wide and involved employees at various levels of authority. As a result, Respondents violated Section 17(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17a-4(b)(4) thereunder and HIC violated Section 204 of the Advisers Act and Rule 204- 2(a)(7) thereunder."

On February 9, 2024, the SEC "announced charges against five broker-dealers, seven dually registered broker-dealers and investment advisers, and four affiliated investment advisers for widespread and longstanding failures by the firms and their employees to maintain and preserve electronic communications."

The Commission stated: "In September 2023 and February 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued five separate orders instituting administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings, making findings, and imposing remedial sanctions and a cease-and-desist order against the respondents listed in the Appendix ("Respondents"). The Commission issued these orders after accepting Respondents' signed offers of settlement, in which Respondents admitted to certain violations related to their employees' communications on personal devices ("off-channel communications") and agreed to comply with undertakings designed to remediate their violations (the "Settled Orders")."