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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Lloyd’s of London has said its former chief executive John Neal breached compliance rules during his time at the insurance broker for failing to disclose a personal relationship with a female employee. While it found “no conclusive evidence” that Neal and the former employee had “engaged in a romantic relationship during their employment at Lloyd’s”, it said their relationship “was sufficiently close during their employment at Lloyd’s that it could be viewed as creating a perceived conflict of interest. Trust, integrity and effective oversight are fundamental to Lloyd’s. Based on the findings of this investigation, we have concluded that the conduct of the former chief executive fell significantly below the standards expected of him.

It also established serious failings in the governance standards and in following processes, most worryingly in the handling of whistleblowing reports. These were serious failures that should never have been allowed to happen. These findings underline the importance of robust governance structures and processes.

Where standards were not best-in-class, we have put that right. However, governance can only ever be part of the answer. Culture and personal accountability also play a vital role.

That is why the Council of Lloyd’s is unequivocal about the behaviour we expect from everyone, at every level, at the Corporation of Lloyd’s. Its revenue deterioration has accelerated, with digital headaches only worsening as declining Google referrals caused web traffic to tumble and dealt a heavy blow to programmatic advertising. …Extensive cost-cutting did shield company profits from much of the impact, but operating profits still slipped. Measures to control costs have been aggressive, with Reach shuttering print operations in Watford and Glasgow.