Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority, Ashley Alder, has been cleared of wrongdoing over his handling of a whistleblowing complaint, following an internal review.
In August 2024, it was reported by the Financial Times that Alder had been accused of breaching the confidentiality of an internal whistleblower, who wrote to him asking for help.
According to reports, Alder forwarded on correspondence in December and March with the complainant’s name, address and concerns unredacted.
Following the first public allegation, a second former employee of the watchdog, came forward with a similar allegation as to the handling of their whistleblowing communication to the chair.
In response to the allegation, the board’s senior independent director, Richard Lloyd, carried out an internal review of the handling of the two individuals’ whistleblowing communications by Alder.
Lloyd concluded today (September 22) that while Alder did not follow the FCA’s existing policy “to the letter” in handling the two “complex” cases, he had sought to ensure the concerns raised, if appropriate, were acted on.
“The FCA’s chair, therefore, consulted senior colleagues confident they would treat the information with the utmost care,” he added.
Lloyd also concluded Alder reasonably took the view that he was providing information of which those colleagues were already aware.
As a result of the review, Lloyd has made a number of recommendations to “further strengthen” the regulator’s internal processes.
“This includes making clear in the rare instances of whistleblowing requiring escalation to non-executives, communications will need to be shared with appropriate internal or external expert advisers on a confidential 'need to know' basis so they can be reviewed fully,” he added.
The City watchdog confirmed these recommendations would be made as part of a review of its internal whistleblowing policy, which was already underway, with a revised policy due to be published “shortly”.
In response to Lloyd’s review, Alder said he took the FCA’s responsibilities to whistleblowers “very seriously.”
“These were unusual and complex cases involving two employees who had left the FCA some years ago and who had raised a range of issues over an extended period of time, in one case through multiple public channels. I wanted to ensure that, as non-executive chair, I was in the best position to act on the concerns of both individuals.
“To do so, I needed to consult an extremely limited number of senior colleagues and, while I did not follow the policy to the letter, I knew that they would treat all information with utmost care, and there would be no risk of prejudice to the individuals involved,” he added.
Alder said this review would help the regulator to update its whistleblowing policy concerning information handling, including that non-executive directors must be able to access internal senior advice at the outset.
alina.khan@ft.com
