The banking industry body chaired by outgoing Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann has held firm on calculations that new financial regulations will severely impact global GDP - with the UK likely to be hardest hit - and accused official sector studies of overplaying the benefits of reform.

The Institute of International Finance, which represents 440 financial firms, said in a report published today that while it supported the need for reform, further attention should be given to the design of new regulations so as not to damage economic growth.