A Bold Step Forward: New UK Rules Empower Whistleblowers

Just last month, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), together with the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority, published strident new rules to encourage and support whistleblowers at financial institutions. By September 2016, banks and credit unions with more than £250 million in assets must standardize internal whistleblowing programs. They must also assign a senior manager to act as a whistleblower “champion.” Other requirements include an annual report on whistleblowing and notifying employees of whistleblowing services. Though currently applicable to UK institutions, these requirements could eventually apply to all regulated financial institutions in the country, including overseas banks with branches in the UK.

This landmark move addresses ongoing concerns about systemic ethical issues within the industry. Earlier this year, in an expansive survey we conducted together with the University of Notre Dame, The Street, The Bull and the Crisis, we uncovered some troubling findings on the topic of ethics in the US and UK financial services industry:

• When asked if they ever felt pressure at work to compromise ethical standards or violate the law—approximately 14% of the survey’s UK respondents admitted feeling such pressure. This was a full 6% higher than respondents in the US.
• 24% of UK respondents said it was likely that their employer would retaliate if they were to report wrongdoing in the workplace.
• And perhaps most troubling, more than 1 in 5 respondents said they believed their company’s confidentiality policies and procedures barred the reporting of potential illegal or unethical activities directly to law enforcement or regulatory authorities.

While there is clearly much work to be done on both Wall Street and Fleet Street, we are making real progress. Indeed, in 2012, I was privileged to give an address at the House of Commons about the ethical crisis that led to the development of the SEC Whistleblower Program and the program’s powerful and ground-breaking effect on law enforcement. I continue to have great faith in our combined abilities to bring forth and empower truthtellers wherever they reside. I note that in fiscal 2014, the SEC reported that it received 70 tips from whistleblowers in the UK—the highest number from any country outside of the US.

These latest rules promulgated by the FCA are a promising sign. Like the SEC’s Whistleblower Program, these rules recognize the crucial role of each individual employee in the fight against wrongdoing and offer the best hope for industry-wide reform.