IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v134y2016i1d10.1007_s10551-014-2407-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Whistleblowing, Governance and Regulation Before the Financial Crisis: The Case of HBOS

Author

Listed:
  • Ian P. Dewing

    (University of East Anglia)

  • Peter O. Russell

    (University of East Anglia)

Abstract

Following the financial crisis of 2008, the Treasury Committee of the UK House of Commons undertook an inquiry into the lessons that might be learned from the banking crisis. Paul Moore, head of group regulatory risk at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) during 2002–2005, provided evidence of his experience of questioning HBOS policies which resulted in his dismissal from HBOS. The problems that surfaced at HBOS during the financial crisis were so serious that it was forced to merge with Lloyds TSB, another UK bank, to form the Lloyds Banking Group in which the government took a significant stake. Moore’s evidence to the Treasury Committee revealed that long before the financial crisis, he had raised major concerns with the management of HBOS and with the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK financial services regulator. Moore’s evidence led to the submission of further disclosures, replies and rejoinders as evidence to the Treasury Committee. Moore’s case is therefore of considerable interest to researchers of whistleblowing because it is a rare instance of high-level whistleblowing, the details of which subsequently entered the public domain. The information revealed in evidence to the Treasury Committee sheds light on the process of whistleblowing in the context of the governance and regulation of a major UK bank that subsequently had to be rescued by government intervention during the financial crisis. The paper makes a contribution to the wider literature on whistleblowing, and to a greater understanding of aspects of the financial crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ian P. Dewing & Peter O. Russell, 2016. "Whistleblowing, Governance and Regulation Before the Financial Crisis: The Case of HBOS," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 155-169, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:134:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2407-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2407-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-014-2407-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-014-2407-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Nielsen & Lakshmi Balachandra & Anna Nielsen, 2013. "Erratum to: Whistle-Blowing Methods for Navigating Within and Helping Reform Regulatory Institutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 549-549, February.
    2. Richard Nielsen, 2013. "Whistle-Blowing Methods for Navigating Within and Helping Reform Regulatory Institutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 385-395, February.
    3. Johan Graafland & Bert Ven, 2011. "The Credit Crisis and the Moral Responsibility of Professionals in Finance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(4), pages 605-619, November.
    4. Ian P. Dewing & Peter O. Russell, 2008. "The individualization of corporate governance," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(7), pages 978-1000, September.
    5. Marco Becht & Patrick Bolton & Ailsa Röell, 2011. "Why bank governance is different," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 27(3), pages 437-463.
    6. Hamid Mehran & Alan Morrison & Joel Shapiro, 2011. "Corporate governance and banks: what have we learned from the financial crisis?," Staff Reports 502, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    7. Stephanos Avakian & Joanne Roberts, 2012. "Whistleblowers in Organisations: Prophets at Work?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 71-84, September.
    8. Graafland, J.J. & van de Ven, B.W., 2011. "The Credit Crisis and the Moral Responsibility of Professionals in Finance," Other publications TiSEM 5b43729e-b13c-4455-a230-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Graafland, J.J. & van de Ven, B.W., 2011. "The Credit Crisis and The Moral Responsibility of Professionals in Finance," Other publications TiSEM 3097c1b1-0b0f-4789-ad3d-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Meier, Samira & Rodriguez Gonzalez, Miguel & Kunze, Frederik, 2021. "The global financial crisis, the EMU sovereign debt crisis and international financial regulation: lessons from a systematic literature review," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    2. Dancsik, Bálint, 2020. "Rendszerszintű kockázat rendszerszintű erkölcs nélkül. Kiegészítések a pénzügyi válságok etikai magyarázatához [Systemic risk without systemic ethics. Supplements to the ethical explanation of fina," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(3), pages 225-243.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bonnie G. Buchanan, 2016. "Securitization: A Financing Vehicle for All Seasons?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 559-577, October.
    2. Buchanan, Bonnie G., 2016. "Securitization: a financing vehicle for all seasons?," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 31/2016, Bank of Finland.
    3. Buchanan, Bonnie G., 2017. "The way we live now: Financialization and securitization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 663-677.
    4. Raymond O. S. Zaal & Ronald J. M. Jeurissen & Edward A. G. Groenland, 2019. "Organizational Architecture, Ethical Culture, and Perceived Unethical Behavior Towards Customers: Evidence from Wholesale Banking," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 825-848, September.
    5. Olivier Mesly & David W. Shanafelt & Nicolas Huck, 2021. "Dysfunctional Markets: A Spray of Prey Perspective," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(3), pages 797-819, July.
    6. Anthony Asher & Tracy Wilcox, 2022. "Virtue and Risk Culture in Finance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 223-236, August.
    7. Thanassoulis, John & Morrison, Alan, 2017. "Ethical standards and cultural assimilation in financial services," CEPR Discussion Papers 12060, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Guillaume Mercier & Ghislain Deslandes, 2017. "There are no Codes, Only Interpretations. Practical Wisdom and Hermeneutics in Monastic Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(4), pages 781-794, November.
    9. Jaroslav Belás, 2012. "Social Responsibility And Ethics In The Banking Business: Myth Or Reality? A Case Study From Slovak Republic," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 57(195), pages 115-138, October -.
    10. Vita Akstinaite & Graham Robinson & Eugene Sadler-Smith, 2020. "Linguistic Markers of CEO Hubris," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(4), pages 687-705, December.
    11. Kun Liang & Cuiqing Jiang & Zhangxi Lin & Weihong Ning & Zelin Jia, 2017. "The nature of sellers’ cyber credit in C2C e-commerce: the perspective of social capital," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 133-147, March.
    12. Betsy Stevens, 2013. "How Ethical are U.S. Business Executives? A Study of Perceptions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 361-369, October.
    13. Alan J. Kearns, 2017. "Rebuilding Trust: Ireland’s CSR Plan in the Light of Caritas in Veritate," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(4), pages 845-857, December.
    14. Olivier Mesly & Hareesh Mavoori & Nicolas Huck, 2023. "The Role of Financial Spinning, Learning, and Predation in Market Failure," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(1), pages 517-543, March.
    15. Andrea Roncella & Ignacio Ferrero, 2020. "A MacIntyrean Perspective on the Collapse of a Money Market Fund," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 29-43, August.
    16. Noel Murray & Ajay Manrai & Lalita Manrai, 2015. "Deconstructing Financial Services Advertising in the Run Up to the Great Recession: The Case of the Live Richly Campaign," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 14(1), pages 7-22, June.
    17. Girts Racko, 2019. "Does Economic Rationalization Decrease or Increase Accounting Professionals’ Occupational Values?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 763-777, September.
    18. Valeria Fernanda Mesta-Cabrejos & Karla Stefanny Huertas-Vilca & Higinio Guillerno Wong-Aitken & Franklin Cordova-Buiza, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility in the banking sector: a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-6, December.
    19. Quentin Dupont & Jonathan M. Karpoff, 2020. "The Trust Triangle: Laws, Reputation, and Culture in Empirical Finance Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 217-238, May.
    20. Huck, Nicolas & Mavoori, Hareesh & Mesly, Olivier, 2020. "The rationality of irrationality in times of financial crises," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 337-350.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:134:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2407-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.