CP23/7: Regulatory fees and levies: policy proposals for 2023/24

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a public consultation (CP23/7) on FCA general, periodic, and application fees rates for the next financial year (2023/24). Specifically, the Authority is consulting on
1. the general fee rates applicable to firms both authorized by the FCA and others (i.e. market infrastructures) based on the annual funding requirement (AFR) set out in the FCA’s latest Business plan which would involve for nearly all supervised market participants an increase in fees due to increased funding needs for supervision (an increase of 8.5% in total AFR);
2. the integration of new fee rates to recover the costs for the supervision of pension dashboard providers and the supervision of the new consumer duty;
3. a freeze of the minimum and flat rate fees to ease burden of the smallest firms (periodic fees) which will apply to ALL firms;
4. a freeze of the application fees charged for registration which will also apply to ALL firms;
5. the amount and allocation of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) general levy (no change in the allocation percentage for fund management firms, but an increase in the absolute amount to be paid based on an increase in funding needs by the FOS); and
6. the allocation of the penalties paid to the FCA in the previous year amoung fee blocks and subsequent fee rebates that will be granted (it may be worth noting in this context, that the FCA assumes a rebate of 22.1% to be granted to the portfolio management fee block).
Additionally, the Authority sets out the levies that it will collect on behalf of various government departments such as the new economic crime levy or the money and pensions service levies. To view details on the proposed (new) fee rates, please consult the enclosed document or follow above noted link.