FSA Unveils 2007-08 Regulatory Fees And Levies

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

04 June 2007

The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) last Thursday published the final FSA fees and Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) levies for regulated firms for 2007/08.

The FSA has finalised fee rates for 2007/08 at levels that, for most firms, are lower than those it proposed in February 2007. This is for several reasons, including firms' higher than expected business volumes, as well as greater numbers of firms in certain fee blocks.

In nearly all fee blocks, increases in the minimum fee (the basic fee that all firms pay) have been capped at 3%, benefiting around half of all regulated firms which only pay the minimum fee.

Graeme Ashley-Fenn, Director of the FSA's Contact, Revenue and Information Management Division, explained that:

"We are pleased to announce that the FSA fee rates are lower than those proposed in the consultation, but we recognise that any increase will concern some of our fee payers. The FSA's expenditure has increased this year, mainly due to higher Financial Capability and IT budgets and the cost of moving towards more principles-based regulation, but the investments being made will enable us to increase our effectiveness and help us to deliver our statutory objectives."

He concluded:

"We are committed to making it easier for firms to do business with the FSA, and firms will be able to use our online Fee calculator to get an indication of the fees they will actually pay."

Firms can access the Fee Calculator via the FSA website.

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