Financial services firms launched a record crackdown over staff misconduct in 2012 as FSA figures show 1,400 authorised staff were sacked, suspended or resigned while under investigation last year.

City AM reports the number of qualified withdrawals from the FSA register rocketed 76 per cent compared to 2012 showing a more tougher stance over wrongdoing.

The number of clean withdrawals, where workers leave through redundancy or job move, rose six per cent to nearly 35,500.

The figures were published by law firm Pinsent Masons after submitting a Freedom of Information request for the figures since 2008.

Pinsent Masons financial services partner Helen Farr says: “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.”

The FSA made a record £312m worth of fines in 2012 as it clamped down on market abuses such as Libor rigging and irregular trades.