The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced that managing director Margaret Cole is set to leave the regulator later this year.

Her departure comes ahead of the Government's 'twin peaks' overhaul of the FSA, which from 2 April will see the regulator split into two, with one arm focusing on prudential regulation and the other on conduct.

Cole (pictured), who has a background as a commercial litigator in private practice, joined the FSA in July 2005 as director of enforcement. She is well-known for launching a litigation practice in White & Case's City office in 1995, where she worked until joining the regulator.

Her arrival at the FSA coincided with a sweeping redundancy programme, which saw a third of the division leave. This was followed by a similarly large-scale wave of recruitment, with a host of former City professionals brought in to replace outgoing staff members.

She was appointed to the FSA board as managing director of enforcement and financial crime in September 2010 and in April 2011 took on the role as the first managing director of the conduct business unit, which will go on to become the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the new regulatory structure.

The new 'twin peaks' model, unveiled by the FSA earlier this month, will see the regulator split into the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in 2013. Banks, building societies, insurers and major investment firms will have two groups of supervisors, with the PRA focusing on prudential and the FCA focusing on conduct. All other firms (those not 'dual regulated') will be solely supervised by the conduct supervisors.

Cole will leave at the end of March, prior to the overhaul coming into force. She will then be on gardening leave until 31 August, but may represent the FSA during that time on issues not related to individual regulated firms or ongoing investigations. Cole said she will now look for a new challenge, with a return to private practice thought to be an option under consideration.

Cole said: "We have shown the FSA is not afraid to take on difficult cases and will not shy away from pursuing criminal prosecutions, however difficult to prove. It has been a challenging but rewarding few years and I believe I have created a successful enforcement platform to take into the UK's new regulatory authorities."

The FSA said Cole had led its drive to deliver a credible deterrence strategy against financial crime, which in 2011 saw eleven convictions for insider dealing with sixteen awaiting trial and fines levied totalling £66m. Chief executive Hector Sants said: "Margaret has been pivotal in transforming the FSA's approach to enforcement and she leaves a substantial legacy, widely respected in legal, regulatory and international circles."

Click here for a 2009 Legal Week profile of Cole.