They’re overworked, stressed out, and coping with unprecedented pandemic challenges. Fed up compliance workers are now deserting their City firms at a record pace.

Headhunter Danos Associates saw a 20% jump in market-wide compliance moves in the year to April compared with the same period a year before, said Denis Spearman, head of compliance at Danos. The firm recruits for senior compliance roles at clients including Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Standard Chartered.