Fees up 194%

Regulatory fees, including the Financial Ombudsman Scheme levy and payouts by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), are likely to be £707.3m more in 2009/10 than last year – the new figure is £1071.6m. FSA’s anticipated annual funding requirement has risen £117m to £437.7m, largely to pay for enhanced supervision of higher impact firms. Figures for individual authorised firms will vary widely, the FSA warns in CP09/7 but it is safe to assume that deposit takers will experience the biggest increase due to much higher FSCS levies associated with interest payable on loans from the Bank of England and HM Treasury to fund defaults by these firms in 2008. The final fees for 2009/10 will not be confirmed until the FSA’s Board meeting in May and the regulator warns that they may differ significantly from the current estimates.