Data obtained by law firm, Pinsent Masons, through a freedom of information request, found that 1,373 workers were sacked for disciplinary reasons in 2012, up 76% from 2011.
It also found the total number of job losses in the sector, including redundancies, resignations and retirements, was also at a five-year high of 177,697.
In addition to sackings and suspensions, the data suggests that the number of job losses in the sector has reached its highest level since the peak of the financial crisis in 2008.
Some 36,868 people in the sector lost their jobs in 2012, bringing the total number of people to have left their posts in the past five years to 177,697.
Helen Farr, a London-based partner in the financial services team at Pinsent Masons, said: "The FSA has increasingly shown that it is cracking down on financial crime and market abuse. Financial services firms are operating under increased scrutiny and as a result employers are imposing industry rules more strictly.
"FSA enforcement activity has clearly had an impact on firms' willingness to tolerate wrong-doing. Employers now appear much more likely to discipline employees for offences.
"The rise in number of staff dismissed from 778 to 1373 in a twelve-month period suggests that the threat of enforcement and reputational damage associated with rogue traders such as Kweku Adoboli are clearly having an impact."
Farr added: "The total number of job losses in the sector is striking. While it should be kept in mind that many of these people may have been re-employed and some will have simply transferred internally, the numbers certainly tell a story.
"It will be interesting to see the impact that further reforms around ring fencing or formal separation of business divisions, as foreseen by the Vickers and Liikanen reports, will have on the banking sector."
