Lawyers have backed calls by the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards for banks to offer greater protection to whistle-blowers, as regulators come under fire for the failure to appreciate the “personal dilemma” individuals may face when they disclose corporate wrongdoing.

The commission's report called on banks to enact formal procedures for whistle-blowers. It suggested that a non-executive board member, ideally the chairman, should be given specific responsibility for a bank's approach to whistleblowing, for which they would be personally accountable.