(Bloomberg) -- The Bank of England called for Lloyd's of London to demonstrate progress in tackling the insurance market's culture of sexual harassment.
The BOE's director of insurance supervision Anna Sweeney said she would work together with the Financial Conduct Authority to ensure that Lloyd's investigates instances of harassment and seeks to end sexual misconduct in the market.
Sweeney was reacting to a series of Bloomberg articles that have revealed the extent of sexual harassment and bullying among the companies that work in the world's largest insurance market.
“No one should have to tolerate such actions or work in the kind of environment suggested by these allegations,” Sweeney said in prepared remarks to an Insurance Insider event on Wednesday. “We and the FCA will be monitoring progress closely and talking to Lloyd's to see demonstrable progress.”
Read more: sexual harassment is rife in Lloyd's of London's insurance market
A Lloyd's spokesman said the corporation had introduced a series of measures to stamp out sexual misconduct in the market.
The firm has responded to the articles by introducing bans for inappropriate behavior. The corporation that runs the Lloyd's market has also established an independent hotline for whistleblowers and committed to holding a survey of people working in the market.
“We welcome the reaction of Lloyd's leadership and are supportive of their initiatives, including a bullying and harassment hotline, the market-wide culture survey, the use of sanctions -- including potential lifetime bans -- and new training and initiatives to increase diversity,” Sweeney said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Will Hadfield in London at whadfield@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, David Goodman, Lucy Meakin
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
