According to a consultation paper published today, the FCA’s overall costs increased by 7.8%, up from £481.6m ($686m, €602m) in 2015/16, due to the authority now taking on the added responsibility of regulating the consumer credit market.
The levy represents a 1.6% reduction in fees compared to the £74.9m paid out the previous year, with life insurers and general insurers making a similar saving – paying £41.6m and £24.7m respectively.
Rebates using fines
Meanwhile, portfolio managers will see a 5.1% drop in fees, paying just £42.6m for the coming financial year instead of the £44.9m paid in 2015/16 – as a result of an £11.5m rebate applied using money the FCA received from fines.
The figure makes up nearly a third of the total £49.6m of financial penalties which the regulator retained in 2015/16 – with the rest going to the Treasury – and was paid out specifically from those in this category such as UK wealth manager WH Ireland which was fined £1.2m in February for failing to sufficiently protect against the risk of market abuse.
Furthermore, advisers will also receive a £4.2m rebate on its 2016/17 fees from fines levied against firms over the past year.
Pension guidance
The cost of the government-backed guidance service Pension Wise has nearly halved from £39.1m in 2015/16 to £22.6m in 2016/17 as a result of the pensions guidance levy (PGL) – with advisers funding 12% of the services requirements for the coming year.
