FSA forced to admit 96 staff exits in Q3

UK regulator admits it lost staff in the third quarter of 2010.

The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been forced to admit it lost dozens of staff in the third quarter alone, after former Labour financial services secretary Paul Myners questioned HM Treasury about a flurry of recent exits from the regulator.

Myners asked the government how many FSA employees resigned in the three months to the end of October, according to official records.

In a response dated November 25, the Conservative's James Sassoon, commercial secretary to the Treasury, produced a table showing the regulator received 96 resignations from staff in the period.

Voluntary exits for August were 35, with 27 leaving in September and a further 34 last month.

The FSA's annual staff turnover as at the end of October was 9.5%, because in that month 77 people accepted jobs with the FSA.

"The management and board of the FSA consider turnover rates of up to the financial services industry norm of 15% to be manageable," he told Myners. "The FSA remains confident it can continue to staff effectively the FSA at its projected headcount of 4,000 full-time equivalents."

Sassoon said the intention is to cap the FSA's headcount at the current level until the transition to the new bodies of the Consumer Protection and Markets Agency and the Prudential Regulatory Authority in 2012.

Dan Waters, director of the FSA's conduct risk and asset management sector, is the latest figure to leave the City watchdog, in a departure announced the same day as Sassoon's response on FSA exits.

Managing director of supervision Jon Pain, chief operating officer and managing director Mark Norris, and managing director of risk Sally Dewar have also announced they are due to depart soon.

At a Treasury Select Committee hearing last week, FSA chief executive Hector Sants agreed with MPs the regulator is having a "staff-retention problem", but said it would be able to complete structural reforms such as the retail distribution and  mortgage market reviews by 2012.