The Financial Conduct Authority has published Consultation Paper CP26/11 setting out proposed regulatory fees and levies for 2026/27, including FCA periodic fees, application and transaction charges, the Financial Ombudsman Service general levy, and statutory levies collected on behalf of government bodies. The proposals apply to all FCA fee-payers, Financial Ombudsman general levy payers and prospective applicants for authorisation or registration. The FCA’s proposed Annual Funding Requirement for 2026/27 is £788.9m, driven by a 1% increase in the Ongoing Regulatory Activities budget, with cost recovery of ongoing exceptional projects allocated across fee-blocks broadly in line with the previous year. Minimum and flat-rate FCA fees are proposed to rise by 1%, except where staged increases conclude this year, taking the A.0 minimum fee to £2,200, the consumer credit CC.2 minimum fee to £2,200 and the CC.1 minimum fee to £1,100. The paper also includes an estimated £72.8m rebate to 2026/27 periodic fees from retained financial penalties (applied to specified fee-blocks), a 1% revalorisation of application, transaction and notification fees (rounded to the nearest £10), and updated fee levels for credit rating agencies, trade repositories and securitisation repositories reflecting the end-December 2025 EUR/GBP exchange rate. For the Financial Ombudsman, the FCA notes an approved 2026/27 budget of £268.3m and proposes to recover £86m through the Compulsory Jurisdiction general levy. Draft rates are also provided for levies collected for the Money and Pensions Service (including allocations of £30.50m for money guidance, £109.10m for debt advice in England and £56.70m for pensions guidance), devolved authorities’ debt advice (£18.00m) and illegal money lending (£8.92m). Separately, the FCA proposes amending FEES so cryptoasset firms applying for Money Laundering Regulations registration and new FSMA permissions at the same time pay only the highest applicable fee, and updating guidance to state that direct debit is the FCA’s preferred (but not mandatory) payment method. Responses are requested by 30 April 2026. Subject to FCA Board approval in June 2026, the FCA plans to publish a Policy Statement with final rules in early July 2026, with some firms invoiced from July 2026 (and certain fee-payers already invoiced on-account from February 2026, with balances due in September 2026).
Financial Conduct Authority 2026-03-26
Financial Conduct Authority consults on 2026/27 fee rates and levies with £788.9m funding requirement and Financial Ombudsman levy rising to £86m
The Financial Conduct Authority has published Consultation Paper CP26/11 on proposed regulatory fees and levies for 2026/27, covering FCA periodic, application and transaction fees, the Financial Ombudsman Service general levy, and statutory levies for government bodies. Proposals include an FCA Annual Funding Requirement of GBP 788.9m, a 1% rise in minimum and flat-rate fees, an estimated GBP 72.8m rebate from retained financial penalties, updated levies for the Money and Pensions Service and related schemes, and revised fees for certain market infrastructures. The FCA also proposes that cryptoasset firms applying simultaneously for Money Laundering Regulations registration and new Financial Services and Markets Act permissions pay only the highest applicable fee, and confirms direct debit as its preferred payment method.