The Financial Services Authority: The Cost of Regulation and Oversight

The Isle of Man Government Budget 2020-21 announced the intention for the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority (‘the Authority’) “to move to a predominantly industry funded model (‘PIFM’)”. The Authority will shortly issue a Discussion Paper on transitioning the Authority towards this desired model.

The Authority is currently funded by a blend of industry fees and an annual subvention from the Treasury which is approximately a 50/50 split. The Authority has been reviewing its fee structure for the past 18 months to address some issues around calculation methodology, framework consistency and the level of fees relative to other jurisdictions. An engagement programme is being launched this autumn to coincide with the release of:

  1. A Consultation Paper on fee increases for all sectors over the next two years to cover advanced resources (as included in the budget) and to start a modest rebalancing of how the Authority is funded. The broader goal then being to develop and achieve a PIFM over a reasonable time frame.
  2. A more general Discussion Paper which sets out a broad strategy to move towards a PIFM and asks readers to respond to a series of questions to inform how this will be achieved.

The move to a PIFM will include a rigorous engagement process and views of stakeholders will be canvassed in a number of ways, including:

  1. Retaining an independent third party to undertake research, review work performed by the Authority to date and consider input from Consultation and Discussion Papers for inclusion in final recommendations.
  2. Forming an industry advisory group whose views will be sought on discrete elements of the strategy.
  3. Issuing additional Discussion and Consultation Papers and holding focus group sessions with specific sectors as required.
  4. Regular touch points with other Isle of Man Government stakeholders.
  5. Sub-committee of the Authority’s Board who will ultimately consider

Additional information will follow shortly with the publication of the Consultation and Discussion Papers.

Any general queries should be addressed to Policy@iomfsa.im once the consultation period is open.