After 31st March intermediaries will be required to pay the standard application fees based on annual turnover. IFAs seeking a variation of permission to include mortgages and general insurance will be charged 50% of the fees listed for their ‘fee band’.
Firms missing the 31st March deadline risk waking up at least £600 poorer on 1st April if they then decide to apply to the FSA. The costs of an electronic application increase from £500 to £1,100 but if firms decide to complete a paper based application, the costs increase to £1,200 – a £700 increase. For firms with an annual turn over of more than £1m, the fees are higher.
The next deadline is only four weeks later: 30th April. The FSA cannot guarantee that firms applying any later than this date will receive a decision in time for Mortgage Day (31st October).
Chris Cummings, Director of AMI, said: “AMI is the trade body for the whole of the mortgage intermediary community. Our role is to provide members with the information they need to make an informed decision about which path to take through regulation. The regulatory clock is ticking. Firms that want to be directly authorised shouldn’t risk being an “April Fool” and at least £600 poorer by missing the discount period.”
To assist members in their preparations for FSA regulation, AMI has produced a number of factsheets and the Guide Around MCOB.
