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Partner Simon Bushell comments in Thomson Reuters Practical Law in relation to the first case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under the senior managers regime, against the CEO of Barclays Group.

Simon’s comments were published in Thomson Reuters Practical Law, 31 May 2018, and can be found here.

“In the first case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) under the senior managers regime, the CEO of Barclays Group has been fined a combined sum of £642,430 for failing to act with due skill, care and diligence. The FCA and the PRA have also imposed special requirements on Barclays to report annually on how it handles whistleblowing. These are the first requirements of their kind to be applied to a regulated firm.

“According to Simon Bushell, a partner at Signature Litigation, “this is an important first decision under a regime which has been in operation since March 2016. While it sets the tone of what is to come, the debate will likely centre on whether the regulators landed only a glancing blow under one of their flagship initiatives in recent years.”

““Arguably, the long-term consideration is the underlying message to potential whistleblowers”, comments Bushell. “Whistleblowers play a role in maintaining transparency and checks and balances in the financial markets. It remains to be seen whether the regulators have gone far enough to ensure adequate protections for whistleblowers within their organisations. If not, we may see more and more whistleblowers seeking independent legal advice on the issues which concern them, and to ensure that they are protected from retaliatory or other prejudicial conduct.””