Bank adviser numbers drop 11%

The number of bank and building society advisers fell by 11% between January and October this year, from 3,556 to 3,182 - on top of a 23% fall between July 2013 and January this year. This represents just over a third of the 8,658 bank and building society advisers operating at the end of 2011.

The figures show there was a 2 per cent fall in financial adviser numbers between January and October, from 21,881 to 21,496.
 

Overall, the number of advisers fell slightly, from 31,220 in January to 31,153 last month.

The FCA is expected to publish its post-implementation review of the RDR in December, which will further look at the impact of the reforms on advisers, and a spokesperson for the regulator said that the number of advisers in the market was 'stable'.