Shaky future for the FSA, but it's still hiring

It's not been a great 24 hours for the FSA. It may have dolled out its largest ever fine to JPMorgan for mixing client money with its own, but the regulator also lost its first insider share dealing case and appears to be quickly losing friends in Westminster.

Speculation is mounting that George Osbourne is determined to push through the Conservative's long-standing plans to shift more power on City regulation across to the Bank of England.

Business secretary Vince Cable has been fighting the FSA's corner, ahead of the chancellor's speech at Mansion House on 16 June, when firm plans for City regulation will be revealed.

Still, all this doesn't appear to have hampered the FSA's hiring plans. Aside from the 460 staff it intends to recruit in a bid to become a more "proactive" regulator, it's also shaking up the senior ranks.

As the FT reports, City headhunters are being lined up to search for a successor to Hector Sants - the out going FSA chief executive - which is viewed as a sign of confidence in the long-term future of the regulator.

The FSA also has 74 live supervisory roles currently, suggesting that its recruitment plans have in no way been spooked by speculation about its survival. It's also hiring for other senior positions, including head of programme management as it looks to overhaul its IT systems and head of business consulting.

FSA staff shouldn't necessarily read too much into this, however. Whitehall sources have told The Guardian that a complete abolition of the regulator is still being considered, despite resistance from the LibDems, and at the very least it will lose its independent role in the shake-up.