In November 2021, the FCA set out in its Consultation Paper 21/33 its plans to increase the fees that firms pay to cover the cost of FCA regulation. The minimum periodic fee, which the FCA said has remained “largely unchanged” over the past decade, would increase from £1,151 to £2,200 under the proposals for 2022/23.
The FCA will consider respondents’ comments and publish feedback and rules in a Handbook Notice in March 2022.
It is understood that this increase is part of the FCA’s wider transformation programme to become a more “innovative and assertive regulator”. It has committed to invest £120m over the next three years to strengthen its ability to identify firms and individuals of concern.
In addition, the FCA is proposing changes to the calculation of consumer credit firms’ fees to bring them more into line with other firm fees. It envisages a model for calculating minimum fees in the A fee-blocks1 and proposes to integrate consumer credit firms with the minimum fees and prudential charges of A-block firms. These proposals would increase charges, and when the FCA regulation consults on fee rates for 2022/23 in April 2022, it will consider whether to implement them in full.
1 As defined in the FEES Manual
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