Looking for a deal on regulatory services? Check out the latest annual report from Britain’s Financial Services Authority, published Wednesday. It includes a cost comparison for various regulatory jurisdictions and while the figures aren’t directly comparable, it makes for interesting reading.

The FSA estimates that Canada employs 2,200 people and spends £135.3 million a year on financial services regulation (including securities, banking and insurance regulation). The FSA notes that this number does not include the additional cost for overhead, which some Canadian regulators exclude from their financial reporting, although these numbers are provided by the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions, the British Columbia Financial Institutions Commission and the Autorité des marchés financiers in Quebec.

But the FSA cautions that total figures per country and other data are not directly comparable because of differences in countries’ financial industries, regulatory legislation, labour and other costs. They are also affected by the strength of the countries’ currencies on the date the figure was converted to sterling, which in most cases was April 2004. “[It] cannot be used to support the conclusion that regulation in any country listed is more cost-efficient than in any other country,” the FSA warns.

Nevertheless, it’s still interesting to compare countries. For example, Canada’s total is comparable with Australia, which employs 1,900 people and spends £116.4 million on regulation. Australia’s banking industry is about 30% smaller than Canada’s, its equity market is 35% smaller, and insurance is 20% smaller.

However, there appear to be far better regulatory deals out there. Germany oversees its market with 1,300 people for £59.3 million. Its equity market is about 20% bigger than that of Canada, its banking industry is a bit smaller, but the insurance industry is almost four times the size.

The FSA reports that there is now a single integrated regulator in Germany for banking, insurance and securities regulation, known as the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority that handles all the key functions of consumer protection and solvency supervision. However the Deutsche Bundesbank and its regional offices undertake day-to-day supervision of banks, while state authorities have some responsibilities for securities markets and certain insurance companies.

France also regulates a much bigger financial industry than Canada’s with 915 people and £70.8 million in spending. France also has a new merged securities regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers, formed from the merger of three authorities; the Commission des Opérations de Bourse, the Conseil des marchés financiers and the Conseil de Discipline de la Gestion Financière.

Regulation in Britain costs £270 million, about double Canada. But, it only requires slightly more than 3,000 regulatory staffers. The British banking business is almost five times as large as Canada’s, the equity market is almost three times as large, and the insurance business is six times as big.

The U.S. is the capital of the regulatory industry, costing £2.5 billion and employing almost 30,000 people. But it also supervises an industry with a capital market 20 times bigger than Canada’s, a banking industry that’s about seven times bigger, and an insurance industry that is 25 times as large.