As Wells Fargo & Co.’s consumer fraud scandal unfolds, it has fueled a push for stronger whistleblower protections in agencies that police the banking industry, MorningConsult.com reported yesterday. Analysts say banking regulators lack critical factors — anonymity, cash rewards and communication with compliance officers — that make whistleblower programs work. Banking regulators should take a page from the the Office of the Whistleblower at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said Jordan Thomas, a former official in the SEC’s Enforcement Division who’s now chair of whistleblower representation at the law firm Labaton Sucharow in New York. Thomas was a key figure in developing the SEC’s whistleblower program, which he suggested could be a model for other agencies. Several people who said they flagged Wells Fargo’s cross-selling tactics have spoken out publicly since the Sept. 8 enforcement action against the bank, and some former bank employees have filed lawsuits against the San Francisco-based lender. But it’s unclear, Thomas said, what recourse will be available to them under a slate of state and federal laws.
