SBI Group has established a whistle-blowing system (reporting desk) common to SBI Group, which enables Group company staffs, including temporary workers (including within one year from the date of resignation) and executives to report any organizational or individual violations of laws and regulations when they are discovered. In addition to the common whistle-blowing system, some group companies have established and operate their own whistle-blowing systems.
SBI Group's common whistleblower contact desk is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and has been set up in the Internal Audit Department of SBI Holdings as a primary contact desk, as well as at the Board of Statutory Auditors of SBI Holdings as a secondary contact desk (for internal reports such as for those related to management, etc.) to ensure the ease of use for whistle-blowers. The system and the contact desk are made known within the Group by means such as postings (in Japanese and English) on the intranet.
As for the operation of the system, care is taken in handling the information, for example by designating and limiting the number of persons in charge of handling the reported information, and whistleblowers are thoroughly protected to ensure that they are not disadvantaged because they reported the information. Information on the informant, including the fact that the report was made, is strictly handled and not used for any purposes other than the investigation of facts and report of situation to the informant.
SBI Holdings Board of Directors supervises the operational status of the system while the SBI Holdings Internal Audit Department reports regularly to the Statutory Auditors and the Board of Directors on the status of whistleblowing and its content.
In FY2023, a total of 17* reports were received at the Group's common whistleblowing contact desk and at the whistleblowing contact desks of Group companies (listed consolidated subsidiaries in Japan and subsidiaries with more than 1,000 employees). When a report is received, the company conducts a factual investigation while thoroughly protecting the whistleblower. In cases where legal violations are revealed, corrective actions are taken.
* The figure is a simple sum of the number of reports received by each company and contact desks and may therefore include duplicates. In addition, SBI Holdings has also established the harassment consultation desk separately, and the number of consultations through this desk is not included in the above figures.
