Say what you will about the SEC, but at least (a) it exists and will continue to exist for the foreseeable future, and (b) employees are not leaving the agency by the hundreds. In the UK, unfortunately, the situation is now reversed.

In 2010, the UK's Financial Services Authority lost 352 employees, about double the 181 that left it in 2009. CityWire reports that the departures come on the heels of an agonizing stretch in 2010 when the fate of the FSA following national elections in the UK seemed to change every week (see, e.g., "This Week in the Fate of the FSA"). The latest plan for the FSA's future is that it will be scrapped and divided into the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority. An HR person at the FSA said she expects staff levels might rise again "as recruitment picks up in the financial services sector."

Analyzing the exodus, some observers such as Mark Coronna of Wolters Kluwer believe that the loss of employees reveals a major productivity issue for both regulators and regulated entities, FT Adviser reports. "Put simply," he said, "there is just not enough trained, certified and experienced compliance and risk talent available in the market. This is at a time the financial services industry is very much in the regulatory spotlight following the events of recent years."

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