FSA defends 'straight line' fee recovery plan

It says under the ‘straight line recovery' method, 90% of firms will pay less in the 2011/12 financial year despite a 10% rise in its annual funding requirement (AFR) to more than £450m. Larger firms will see significant fee increases. The move is for those firms that pay a variable periodic fee on top of the minimum fee, which the FSA today said would be £1,000 for all regulated firms. It proposes the variable periodic fee should increase in direct proportion to the size of a firm - on a ‘straight line' basis. The more permitted business a firm undertakes, the more fees it will pay....