By Chris Prentice

WASHINGTON The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) levied $5 billion through enforcement actions and barred more than 100 individuals from serving as company directors and officers in fiscal 2023, the agency's chair Gary Gensler said on Wednesday.

Total penalties and other fees levied in the fiscal year that ran through September were down from a record of $6.4 billion in 2022, according to Gensler's remarks prepared for an industry event. Total actions rose to 780 from about 700 a year earlier.

The SEC has been seen to be increasingly aggressive in policing markets under Gensler. Last year's enforcement activity included a series of high-profile cases against crypto firms and executives including FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.

The SEC also barred 133 individuals from serving as directors and officers, the highest in a decade, Gensler said. Greater use of such bans, including one against a former McDonald's Corp CEO, come as the agency has sought to focus on individual accountability and misconduct.

The agency's sweep targeting Wall Street's use of WhatsApp and other such apps remained a key driver of enforcement activity, with the SEC settling charges against 23 broker-dealers and investment advisers.

The agency is expected to publish its full enforcement report sometime next month.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice; editing by Jonathan Oatis)