Context
The FCA has published a blog by Stephen Braviner Roman, FCA General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer, looking at how it interacts with whistleblowers. The FCA states that it is vital people feel confident coming to it with concerns, and that it is grateful so many do (with the number of whistleblowing reports increasing 22% last year).
Key points to note and next actions
- Following the death of a whistleblower with whom the FCA had been in contact over many years, the FCA acknowledges the personal stress of those situations, and that dealing with an official body like the FCA can be – and for many, is – significant.
- The blog states that many FCA colleagues who are in contact with whistleblowers and vulnerable individuals always aim to treat them as the people they are – with empathy and professionalism, not simply cases to be managed.
- To build greater confidence, the FCA is sharing more information with whistleblowers about the action it takes. It provided feedback on each of the 1,252 whistleblowing reports it closed last year.
- The FCA has asked Lea Paterson, who has just joined the FCA Board as an independent non-executive director, to review how the FCA interacted with Mr Andriesz, the deceased whistleblower.