The U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced on Wednesday it has fined 12 firms a total of US$14.4 million for record keeping deficiencies that violated federal securities laws and regulatory rules.

FINRA found deficiencies in the preservation of records in a format that prevents those records from being altered. The firms failed to maintain certain electronic records in “write once, read many” (WORM) format, which prevents the alteration or destruction of records stored electronically, FINRA says in a statement. The WORM deficiencies affected millions, and in some cases, hundreds of millions, of records, FINRA adds.

The sanctioned firms include: RBC Capital Markets LLC and RBC Capital Markets Arbitrage S.A., which were jointly fined US$3.5 million; Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and Wells Fargo Prime Services, LLC, which were jointly fined US$4 million; and, RBS Securities, Inc., which was fined US$2 million.

The firms settled the cases without admitting or denying the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings.

“These disciplinary actions are a result of FINRA’s focus on ensuring that firms maintain accurate, complete and adequately protected electronic records. Ensuring the integrity of these records is critical to the investor protection function because they are a primary means by which regulators examine for misconduct in the securities industry,” says Brad Bennett, executive vice president and chief of enforcement at FINRA, in a statement.