FCA Regulatory Fees Consultation Paper
Dec
Proposed Fee Increase
The FCA has recently published Consultation Paper CP21/33. This paper examines the regulators’ proposed policy changes to the way they will raise regulatory fees from 2022/23. In addition, firms can provide feedback on the suggested changes until 31st January 2022. However, the, feedback responses are not expected until March 2022, with final rules and fees being published in the Summer.
The FCA do not receive any external funding. Therefore, their only income source are the fees charged to, and fines levied upon the firms they regulate. The FCA propose to increase the minimum fees that currently apply to regulated firms. All fee blocks would see an increase on the minimum fee, which the consultation paper sets out in more detail.
Significant Fee Increase for Smallest Firms
The proposed increase in the minimum fee for each block would see a significant jump for the smallest firms. However, the regulator believe this would be the most realistic way of ensuring all firms contribute toward the overall cost of being regulated.
CP21/33 notes that some of the costs of being regulated are attributed to: –
- Regulatory reporting
- Supervision Hub (previously Customer Contact Centre)
- Unrecovered authorisation costs: –
- authorising firms
- dealing with variations of permission
- registering appointed representatives
- vetting approved persons
- Investigations
