The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has today published “indicative numbers” that illustrate how its levy will be distributed across firms in 2019/20.

FSCS says that of the 46,000 firms to pay FSCS’s levy this year, the largest proportion of levy payers, 59%, will pay less than £50.

According to current forecasts, more than 4,500 firms will not pay any levy, instead they will each receive an average rebate of £139.
 
In contrast, the top 110 firms, comprising 0.2% of the total levy paying population, will pay an average of £3m, almost 61% of the total levy bill.
 
FSCS says that, as these are forecasts of the 2019/20 levy figures, as in previous years, “it may be necessary for FSCS to raise additional levies”.    
 
Caroline Rainbird, FSCS CEO said: “We do not take for granted the impact of our levy, as we recognise it can be a significant and unwelcome expense for many firms.

“The levy enables FSCS to protect thousands of people each year who have nowhere else to turn when financial service firms fail.

“Our staff focus on the need for value for money, whilst working hard to deliver an effective and empathetic service to customers, many of whom are in a really tough place.

“Their professionalism also helps to restore consumer confidence in the financial services industry.
 
“To reduce costs to levy payers we pursue recoveries from the estates of failed firms, and in 2018/19 we recovered £26m.”

She added: “We also believe that our strategy, FSCS into the 2020s: Protecting the Future will help to further reduce future levies.

“It focuses on four pillars, Prepare, Protect, Promote and Prevent. As we continue to see a rise in SIPP related claims we are working with our partners in industry through our Prevent pillar to gain valuable insight into the causes of firm failures and about the directors and advisors involved in mis-selling.”