The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority have jointly proposed a number of recommendations to formalise firms' whistleblowing procedures.
The consultation paper proposes a set of rules that will apply to PRA-designated investment firms, insurance and reinsurance firms. UK banks, building societies, credit unions are also affected.

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It follows the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, which recommended that banks put in place mechanisms to allow their employees to raise concerns internally.
The FCA said in a statement today: "With the PRA we have, in response, proposed a package of measures to formalise firms' whistleblowing procedures. "These proposals aim to move towards a more consistent approach, building on existing good practice in firms.
"They aim to ensure that all employees are encouraged to blow the whistle where they suspect misconduct, confident that their concerns will be considered and that there will be no personal repercussions."

The FCA and the PRA propose that relevant firms should:
• Put internal whistleblowing arrangements in place (if they are not already), and inform their UK-based employees about these arrangements
• Inform their UK-based employees that they can blow the whistle to the FCA or the PRA
• Offer protections to all whistle blowers, whatever their relationship with the firm and whatever the topic of their disclosure
• Include a passage in new employment contracts and settlement agreements clarifying that nothing in that agreement prevents an employee, or ex-employee, from making a protected disclosure
• Allocate the prescribed responsibility for whistleblowing under the Senior Managers Regime and Senior Insurance Managers Regime to an individual (referred to as the "whistle blowers' champion") with responsibility for:
– overseeing the effectiveness of internal whistleblowing arrangements, including arrangements for protecting whistle blowers against detrimental treatment
– preparing an annual report to the board about their operation (see section 3.10 to 3.14), and
– reporting to the FCA where, in a case before an employment tribunal contested by the firm, the tribunal finds in favour of a whistle blower

The regulators have called for comments to be sent to them by 22 May.
Meanwhile, the FCA has also this morning set out a revised approach to independent non-executive directors (NEDs) in UK banks, building societies, and credit unions and PRA-designated investment firms (relevant authorised persons) and Solvency II firms.
The revised approach takes into account feedback to a consultation, published in July 2014, which expressed concern about the proposed approach to NEDs.
Under the revised approach the PRA and FCA will only make the following NEDs subject to approval and inclusion in the Senior Managers Regime for relevant authorised persons:
• Chairman
• Chair of the Risk Committee
• Chair of the Audit Committee
• Chair of the Remuneration Committee
• Chair of the Nomination Committee
• Senior Independent Director