Introduction
The Bank of England (the Bank), of which the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) forms a part, are both Prescribed Persons as defined by Parliament under The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014. The role of a prescribed person within the financial sector is to provide workers with an opportunity to make their public interest disclosure to a regulator, rather than their employer.
The Bank highly values the role whistleblowers can play to help us achieve our objectives and ensure that financial services are regulated effectively. Whistleblowing can provide a vital source of information which helps the Bank and PRA to identify risks to the firms we regulate by providing useful insights that we might not otherwise receive.
If you think a firm or individual is involved in wrongdoing within an area we regulate, and you want to report it confidentially, contact the Bank’s whistleblowing team either by email whistleblowing@bankofengland.co.uk, or via our confidential hotline 020 3461 8703. We will assign a dedicated case officer, listen to, and understand your concerns in full and provide advice and guidance to anyone who requires it. We do understand that the decision to disclose information can be difficult for an individual. Be assured that concerns which are raised, personal information, and any future communications will be treated in confidence.
Since April 2017, all ‘Prescribed Persons’ are required to report in writing annually on whistleblowing disclosures they have received. The report must be published within six months of the end of the reporting period and will be placed on our website. The report must contain, without including any information in the report that would identify a worker who has made a disclosure of information, or an employer or other person in respect of whom a disclosure of information has been made:
(a) the number of workers’ disclosures received during the reporting period that the relevant prescribed person reasonably believes are:
- qualifying disclosures within the meaning of section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996; and
- which fall within the matters in respect of which that person is so prescribed;
(b) the number of those disclosures in relation to which the relevant prescribed person decided during the reporting period to take further action;
(c) a summary of:
- the action that the relevant prescribed person has taken during the reporting period in respect of the workers’ disclosures; and
- how workers’ disclosures have impacted on the relevant prescribed person’s ability to perform its functions and meet its objectives during the reporting period;
(d) an explanation of the functions and objectives of the relevant person.
Disclosures
In the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 inclusive
(a)(i) | We received a total of 271 disclosures that have been subject to assessment against the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (‘PIDA’) and discrete statutory requirements of the Bank and the PRA, to assess whether they are protected disclosures. |
(a)(ii) | We reasonably believed that 257 disclosures were protected disclosures within Part IVA of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and subject to the Bank’s and PRA’s role as Prescribed Persons. The remaining 14 disclosures were not protected disclosures: Two disclosures related to firms which are not regulated by the PRA or the Bank. Five disclosures related to firms which are regulated by the Bank/PRA, but the issues fell outside of the Bank’s or the PRA’s regulatory remit; and Seven disclosures related to individuals who do not identify or meet the definition of a whistleblower. |
(b) | Regardless of the statutory basis of any disclosures, the information provided through the whistleblowing channel can contain vital information to further support supervisory assessments. We therefore provided supervisory colleagues with all disclosures (protected and non-protected) to either consider, or for information purposes. |
(c)(i) | All protected disclosures were the subject of supervisory consideration, from which: 176 originated from the FCA; and 35 were provided to both the PRA and FCA by the whistleblower. 30 were provided to the PRA in the first instance and then disseminated to the FCA. 16 were provided to the PRA but were not disseminated further as the matters reported either did not relate to financial regulation, were unable to be progressed due to insufficient information or related solely to the PRA’s remit. |
(c)(ii) | Of the 257 protected disclosures that were subject to supervisory consideration: 17 disclosures allowed supervision to manage potential regulatory risk; 94 disclosures provided intelligence, which was retained for future reference but not currently actionable; and 57 disclosures provided intelligence, of low value, which did not lead to supervisory activity. 89 disclosures continue to be subject to ongoing supervisory assessment.footnote [1] Anonymised examples of the action taken in response to protected disclosures are included at the end of this Report. |
(d) | An explanation of the functions and objectives: The Bank of England The Bank of England’s mission is to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability. The Bank of England is a prescribed person for: the functioning of clearing houses (including central-counterparties); payment systems and securities settlement systems; the treatment, holding, and issuing of banknotes by the Scottish and Northern Ireland banks authorised to issue banknotes (and their agents); the custody, distribution, and processing of Bank of England banknotes under the Bank of England’s Note Circulation Scheme; and the provision of a services relating to payment services.
Tel: 020 3461 8703 Email: whistleblowing@bankofengland.co.uk
The PRA regulates and supervises around 1,300 banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers, and major investment firms. The PRA has the general objective to promote the safety and soundness of the firms it regulates. It has a secondary objective to facilitate effective competition between firms and to facilitate the international competitiveness of the UK economy (in particular the financial services sector) and its growth in the medium to long term. In relation to insurers, the PRA has an additional objective, to contribute to securing an appropriate degree of protection for insurance policyholders. The PRA is a prescribed person for matters relating to the carrying on of deposit-taking business, insurance business, or investment business, and the safety and soundness of persons authorised for such purposes. Bank of England Tel: 020 3461 8703 |
Appendices
How whistleblowers can make a difference.
The following anonymised examples, based on cases managed during 2025/26 by the Bank and PRA’s Whistleblowing Team, highlight the important role whistleblower disclosures play in supporting our day-to-day supervisory activities.
Example 1
A whistleblower raised concerns about weaknesses in a firm’s operational resilience arrangements, governance and culture. We undertook a thematic review of the firm’s approach to operational resilience to identify risks and ensure regulatory compliance. The governance and cultural concerns informed our supervisory approach and remain as areas of focus to ensure regulatory compliance.
Example 2
A whistleblower reported that a firm had artificially inflated new business profits and risked misleading the market, with senior management complicit and pressuring staff to conform. We used the concerns to target supervisory work on governance and culture. We were able to engage the firm and its external auditors confidentially on the firm’s approach to reporting new business profits, reducing the risk of financial misstatements.
Example 3
A whistleblower reported a firm was causing environmental damage and breaching requirements of the Bank’s Supplier Code of Practice which requires suppliers to take immediate action if goods or services do not comply with obligations. Concerns were documented clearly and factually and risk assessed by the Bank. Prompt engagement with the firm sought clarification or evidence of compliance. This led to enhanced monitoring and applying potential contractual remedies in line with the Codes of Practice.
Depending on the complexity, a whistleblowing disclosure may be subject to protracted assessment and engagement before conclusion of the case.