The Financial Services Authority (FSA), the British version of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority rolled into one, is doing something the Australian regulators have never done: it’s conducting a study into the costs of regulation.

The study will be conducted in partnership with the independent Financial Services Practitioner Panel and will focus on the impact of costs on small firms and on internationally competitive wholesale firms.

The FSA wants to know how much its increased levels of regulation are costing firms, as well as the effect it has had on financial services fees and the nature of products and services offered.