The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today published its annual report for 2001/2002.
The report covers the transitional period during which the FSA took on its statutory objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act and began to operate as a single regulator.
It covers the authority's regulation of financial services firms from 1 December 2001 to 31 March 2002 under the Financial Services and Markets Act. It also covers the FSA's regulation of banks and other financial services firms for which it was responsible during the period 1 April to 30 November 2001.
Chairman Howard Davies said in the report: "Our accounts for 2001/02 show that the overall costs of the FSA have risen only modestly over the last year, excluding the effect of the new responsibilities we have taken on in the last 12 months.
"Our budget for the current year anticipates a real terms increase of only 0.4%, excluding the additional resources to be devoted to insurance regulation. Over the four years of our existence, budget costs have risen by 10%, while financial sector salaries have risen by 21%. Since around 70% of our costs are staff related, this is a useful measure of the economies of scale we have been able to capture through regulatory integration.
"Further savings of that kind will be difficult, but we continue to look for more cost-effective ways of delivering regulation."
The annual report will be discussed at the FSA's annual meeting on 18 July.
