What is it?

As the UK’s principal financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has had a particularly high profile during the credit crunch and global banking crisis. Its responsibilities include maintaining market confidence, protecting consumers and targeting financial crime. The FSA employs about 3,000 staff and its chairman is Lord Turner of Ecchinswell.

What graduate jobs are on offer?

The FSA recruits up to 60 university-leavers each year. Most join the main graduate development programme, a rotational scheme that includes three one-year placements in different parts of the organisation and an external secondment to either an investment bank, law firm, fund manager or professional services firm. The FSA also has vacancies for graduates keen to specialise in economics, actuarial work, management accountancy, legal work and HR.

Where are the jobs?

The FSA’s headquarters is at Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands. It has a Scottish office in Edinburgh.

What’s the pay?

The starting salary for graduates at the FSA is £29,000, plus a £2,500 joining bonus.

What’s the competition?

The UK’s top graduate employers received an average of 45 applications per vacancy this year and entry-level programmes are likely to be just as competitive in 2010. Applicants for the FSA need a minimum of a 2.1 degree and a UCAS tariff of 300 or more.

How is it rated?

The FSA was a new entry in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers in 2006 but dropped out of the list two years later. It has returned to the rankings in 97th place this year.

How do I apply?

Applications for the FSA’s specialist graduate programmes close on November 9 and the deadline for the general scheme is November 25. The recruitment process includes a telephone interview and two rounds of assessment centres. For further details, see www.fsagraduates.com MARTIN BIRCHALL The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers book is based on research with more than 16,000 final-year university students. The 2009 edition is available from www.top100graduateemployers.com

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