Whether the credit crunch is your particular hobgoblin or regulatory watchdogs, who seem to have gone crazy these past few weeks, it's becoming increasingly clear that no one can put their back to anyone anymore without getting a knife in it. As the long arm of the law takes aim at a major Swiss bank (yes, unfortunately, that one) and an old-guard financial firm (which, incidentally, just took a hit less than a week ago) office premises are being summarily raided and staffers are getting arrested. Is there to be no end to the drama?

Workers at the Swiss bank UBS and JPMorgan Cazenove, one of the oldest names in the City of London, were arrested for alleged insider dealing on Tuesday as police raids sent a chill through the UK capital's trading rooms. The arrests mark the third high-profile action the Financial Services Authority has taken in the past week over insider trading, in a sign of a tougher approach to a problem the regulator believes is rife in the Square Mile and a threat to the integrity of the markets.

City of London police and 40 FSA officials arrested eight people and raided premises throughout London and England's south-east in what the regulator described as "a major ongoing investigation into insider dealing rings".

The FSA suspects that the alleged ring traded on price-sensitive information contained in deal announcements produced at one or both of the banks' printing facilities but which had yet to be made public.

UBS told the Financial Times: "We can confirm that a junior member of UBS's support staff in London has been arrested and has been suspended from work while the FSA carries out its investigation."

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