Syed Rahman talks to The Wall Street Journal about FCA efforts to encourage whistleblowing

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a digital tool kit and other materials in an attempt to encourage whistleblowing.

With the FCA having increased the staffing of its whistleblowing team in recent years, its latest moves aim to give people confidence in the way it manages the reports of wrongdoing that it receives. The financial services regulator wants to reverse a fall in the number of reports of wrongdoing that it is receiving.

When asked by The Wall Street Journal about the FCA’s plans, Rahman Ravelli’s Syed Rahman said he had doubts about the likely effectiveness of what is being introduced.

He said that he believed the FCA would have to go further than simply asking firms working in the financial services sector to create a whistleblower-friendly workplace culture.
Syed stated that the FCA may be more successful if it introduced a system where financial rewards could be given to those that provide information that leads to enforcement action.

The US operates such a scheme. But the FCA has said it has no plans to offer rewards to whistleblowers. Seven years ago, the FCA examined the US system of financial incentives and concluded such an approach would not encourage whistleblowing or boost transparency in the financial sector.

Syed's comments featured in the Wall Street Journal.