UK financial services sector job losses at a five-year high

Dismissals and suspensions in the UK financial services sector hit a five-year high in 2012, according to data from the Financial Services Authority.

A total of approximately 1,373 workers were sacked for disciplinary reasons last year, up 76% from 2011. Whilst the total number of job losses in the sector - including redundancies, resignations and retirements - was also at a five-year high, of 177,697.

The rise in number of staff dismissed from 778 to 1373 in a twelve month period suggests that the threat of enforcement and reputational damage associated with rogue traders are clearly having an impact.

"The FSA has increasingly shown that it is cracking down on financial crime and market abuse. Financial services firms are operating under increased scrutiny and as a result employers are imposing industry rules more strictly," said Helen Farr, a London-based partner at Pinsent Masons.

Banks worldwide are shedding jobs as stricter regulations and euro zone worries take their toll on trading income and investment banking operations.

Last year also saw a string of bank scandals, including mis-selling of financial products and the manipulation of global benchmark interest rates, as well as the prosecution of former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli for the biggest fraud in British history, which cost the Swiss bank $2.3 billion.

For more information on the UK financial services sector, see the latest research: UK Financial Services Sector

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