The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has welcomed the 2023/24 fees and levies consultation announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The regulator’s proposal is to charge larger firms in the mortgage intermediary sector 10.4% more in both the mortgage and protection classes.
However, as the FCA believes that firms have had a good 2022, the actual fees rates are flat for mortgages and only 7% higher for protection.
Due to lower Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) costs, if firms have the same turnover as last year, the AMI noted that firms should find their fee invoices are broadly the same. Any firms with an increase in turnover, particularly on their protection business, will see higher fees compared to 2022/23, while small firms have their fees frozen at the same level as last year.
Firms with appointed representatives (ARs) or introducer appointed representatives (IARs) will also see the levy, per AR and IAR, frozen at the 2022/23 rates of £266 and £80 respectively.
The AMI highlighted that it was the only consultation respondent to argue that £5m of costs from bringing funeral plan providers under FCA regulation should be covered by firms within that sector and not the broader fee-paying population, as proposed. The FCA agreed with the trade body’s stance, meaning mortgage intermediary firms will no longer have to contribute to this cost recovery.
AMI chief executive, Robert Sinclair, said: “AMI has again demonstrated its value to the industry by challenging charging all firms for the costs of creating a new authorised class of firms. This is an important precedent.
“We will be challenging the 10.4% increase in the cost of regulating our sector as the funding requirement has only increased by 8.4% and we do not have any explanation as to why the mortgage sector should bear a disproportionate share of the costs.
“We welcome the holding of smaller firms’ fees in these turbulent times. In a volatile interest rate environment, it is important that consumers have access to as many advisers as possible.”
The AMI is a non-commercial, not-for-profit trade body and supports mortgage intermediaries by lobbying the Treasury, the FCA and the Government, among other regulators.
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories