The FSA and what's wrong

The Financial Services Authority is the new 2,000 staff super-regulator of financial services in Britain (but this isn't their website). When the FSA takes legal authority this year, it will govern banks, building societies, insurance, investment, securities and virtually everything else to do with finance.

The FSA has tremendous powers and little accountability. As long as it produces an annual report, the FSA can make up its own rules and impose unlimited fines without a trial. Yet the FSA's policy cannot be challenged, and only the Treasury can order a review into its efficiency. Neither the FSA nor its employees can be legally challenged if their mistakes put a company out of business.

Last year the FSA spent £115 million pounds. That is £218 a minute. The FSA claims it does not receive public money. This is utter bull. Their income comes from fees which they can demand from every finance firm - and this cost will be passed on to the consumer through higher charges and lower returns. As well as this, there are countless costs which firms must pay themselves to meet the FSA's rules - and none of these costs appear on the FSA books.

For more details on the FSA's powers, click here. This site also has quotes about the FSA, addresses and other interesting details of the FSA board, and some interesting facts about the FSA's operations.