AFB Practice Workshop: How to Manage Whistleblowing Disclosures in a Regulated Firm

The regulators have made clear that whistleblowing is a central pillar of corporate integrity and risk management. This interactive practice workshop, in partnership with Stephenson Harwood, will consider the procedures and processes for managing whistleblowing reports.  It will focus on the legal and practical considerations that arise when such reports are made within regulated financial institutions.

Why attend?

• Gain insights from experts and peers on managing sensitive disclosures
• Establish whistleblowing frameworks that meet regulatory expectations
• Hear practical case studies and lessons learned from recent investigations
• Understand and navigate confidentiality, retaliation risks, and internal investigations
• Best practice for reporting channels, governance, and cultural alignment
• Refresh your knowledge about the UK and international legal obligations including potentially significant reforms to the law on whistleblowing in the Employment Rights Bill
• Learn how to strengthen your organisation’s culture of transparency and accountability

What will members gain for use at their bank?

• Understand evolving regulatory expectations and enforcement trends from the Financial Conduct Authority for foreign banks including around the nature and extent of investigations following whistleblowing disclosures
• Learn how to protect your institution while supporting whistleblowers effectively
• The opportunity to engage in facilitated discussion on these issues with fellow AFB members and Stephenson Harwood teams, including regulatory litigation and investigations, corporate and commercial, competition, employment and data privacy specialists

Who should attend?

The session is designed to assist professionals from compliance, legal, risk, internal audit and HR functions.

Speakers

Moderators for the seminar are drawn from specialist teams within Stephenson Harwood.  The session will be facilitated by:

Alan Ward, Partner (Regulation and Litigation)

Alan is a partner at Stephenson Harwood specialising in regulatory litigation and investigations. He advises financial institutions and corporates in navigating high-profile investigations commenced by agencies such as the Serious Fraud Office and Financial Conduct Authority, along with internal, non-public investigations into allegations of financial and non-financial misconduct and irregularity.

His client base includes major banks, asset managers, and trading houses, corporates across sectors and high-profile public bodies, who value his ability to handle their most sensitive and business critical matters, including (increasingly) investigations arising from whistleblowing disclosures.

Alan has represented firms, directors, senior managers and traders in many of the most high-profile and significant investigations of the past two decades. He has represented individuals in two of the largest insider dealing prosecutions commenced by the FCA and acted for senior traders and manager in relation to the global LIBOR and foreign exchange investigations, including successfully representing clients at trial. In 2025 he represented a trader and a corporate, in two separate regulatory actions concerning allegations of market manipulation.

Clients value Alan’s collaborative and practical approach, which combines deep technical knowledge with a focus on identifying and managing risk in a proactive and proportionate manner. His experience in complex cases underscores his reputation as a trusted advisor in regulatory and corporate crime matters.

Logistics

Format:   In-person at Stephenson Harwood, 1 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7SH

Fee:        £265.00 + VAT

Date:       Tuesday 25 November 2025

Time:       08:30 – 11:00 (Registration and breakfast from 08:30-09:00)

Places:     Maximum of 36 people

If you would like to submit a question or have any specific areas that you would like the session to address, please send them to the AFB at secretariat@foreignbanks.org.uk. You will receive final event details one week before the event.

Please note that the cost charged for this event is payable to the Association of Foreign Banks. Stephenson Harwood is not charging the AFB or Members for hosting this event.