The Bank of England said it will step up scrutiny of Lloyd’s of London’s internal whistle-blowing systems as the insurance exchange tries to recover a string of sexual-harassment scandals.
Lloyd’s informed the BoE’s Prudential Regulation Authority in February that its “only anonymous whistle-blowing channel provided for staff of the firm had not been operational since October 1, 2017,” according to a central bank statement. As a result, the PRA said these arrangements require “enhanced monitoring and scrutiny,” and the firm’s whistle-blowers’ champion will have to report annually on the soundness of its systems and controls.
The insurance exchange in November announced a new campaign to encourage more people to speak up against “unacceptable behaviour.” That move came after a survey in September of about 6,000 passholders to the Lloyd’s insurance exchange, which found that only 41% of those who raised a concern said they were listened to or taken seriously, and more than one in five respondents said they had seen people in their organisation turn a blind eye to inappropriate behaviour.
A senior lawyer who blew the whistle on alleged sexual harassment and bullying at a top Lloyd’s insurance company is suing his employer for what he called a campaign of harassment, racial discrimination and victimisation. “We are extremely disappointed by this failure in our internal controls, which serves to remind us all about the need for constant vigilance when it comes to these essential services,” a Lloyd’s spokesman said in an e-mailed statement. “Lloyd’s employees can feel confident that we now have all the right mechanisms in place for them to report any wrongdoing, and that these systems are regularly monitored.”