An internal Deloitte Access Economics report on competition in the financial services sector, commissioned by Coles, argues in favour of keeping barriers to entry as low as possible, allowing new non-financial conglomerates such as Wesfarmers to launch banking services, reports the SMH and other Fairfax media services.Earlier this week, Fairfax Media reported that Coles had pulled together a team of senior executives to look at developing a range of financial products similar to those offered by the leading supermarkets in Britain, which have proved highly profitable.Tesco Bank, the financial services arm of the largest UK supermarket, generated just 1.5 per cent of group turnover but contributed 5.5 per cent of total group profit last year. However, as Fairfax columnist Elizabeth Knight points out, it has taken Tesco ten years to become a stand-alone banking operator offering mortgages, and most supermarkets are likely to baulk at the regulatory capital and IT spend needed for a full scale bank."This supports the notion that Coles would pursue a capital-lite model, which could support more simple financial services," Knight argues.