BMA proposes fee changes for service providers

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has released a  consultation paper on proposed fee changes that could come into effect on January 1.

The fees changes fall into four categories: a new fee structure for the corporate service provider (CSP) business sector; select new or revised fees within certain regulated sectors required as a result of recent legislative changes; new innovation hub-related fees; and correction of fees currently misstated in, or omitted from, the fourth schedule of the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969.

At present, all licenced CSPs pay an annual fee of $21 per entity served. The BMA proposes annual fees payable by both limited and unlimited licencees according to a fee-band based on the number of entities serves.

Fees would increase to $2,500 in January 2020 for CSPs serving less than 200 entities with a limited licence, and then again to $3,000 in January 2021. At the other end of the scale, CSPs serving more than 3,001 entities with a limited license would pay $100,000 in January 2020, and $120,000 in January 2021.

nlimited licenses would start at $155,000 and $186,000 for the first two years at the bottom end of the scale, rising to $175,000 and $210,000 for CSPs with the most clients.

There is currently a $206 application fee, payable by all applicants. The BMA is proposing the application fee be determined by the type of licence being sought, with a fee of $2,540 proposed for a limited licence application and a fee of $5,000 for an unlimited licence application.

The BMA conducted a consultation around fee changes in 2018, proposing a flat annual fee of $10,000 for all limited licencees, or $25,000 for all unlimited licencees.  But the BMA took on board feedback from the industry, agreeing to postpone any new fees for CSPs until after 2019. It also extended the time over which changes would be phased in from two years to three.

The BMA described the now-due implementation of those CSP fees from the start of next year as  “the most significant element of the changes proposed within this paper.”