In 2002, Time's Persons of the Year were ‘The Whistleblowers' with its cover picturing former Enron VP Sherron Watkins¹, FBI Agent Coleen Rowley² and WorldCom VP Cynthia Cooper³. These individuals were identified as ‘women of ordinary demeanour but exceptional guts and sense', for blowing the whistle.

A CNN/Time poll at the time revealed that nearly six out of every ten Americans saw whistleblowers as heroes. However, that poll also highlighted that 57% thought whistleblowers faced negative consequences at work most of the time. Twenty years later, some may say that little has changed and highlight that financial services firms in particular still have a lot of work to do.

Whistleblowing in financial services

Although regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), much of the regulation of financial services firms is dependent on self-regulation and self-reporting. We are all users of financial services firms – whether it be online banking, car financing or pension. It is therefore vital that these firms are operating in line with the rules set down by the FCA, specifically that fair treatment of customers is consistently at the heart of their business model. Whistleblowers are therefore key in ensuring that the self-regulation and self-reporting of financial services firms is effective. However, experience tells us that financial services firm need to do more to empower – or, at the very least, protect – whistleblowers.

All organisations need to embed a culture of...

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