The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries says it is “infuriated by the arrogance” of the Financial Conduct Authority’s regimes second fees consultation.

The body says that while the regulator has set out a “good three year plan and business plan [published earlier month], which does broadly explain the future, there is still a serious disconnect with the approach to fees”.

The broker association complains that the repeat of the five-week consultation period is the “shortest in memory”, and that the 14.8% rise in the Appointed Representative levy is buried in the document.

It adds that the FCA assumes that brokers can pass on national insurance increases with no consideration of prioritisation that AMI firms have to go through, and that mortgage brokers should not be charged for the regulator’s new work on cryptocurrency “because we are obliquely captured under some money laundering requirements”.

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries chief executive Robert Sinclair says: “I am infuriated by the arrogance of this new fees consultation. The impossibility for anyone to hold the FCA to account is becoming damaging to the industry.

“Surcharging networks a further 14.8% on Appointed Representatives, for issues that exist in other markets, continues to cause us significant concern.

“The assumption that mortgage broker customers can find the money to pay for the process to review and authorise cryptocurrency firms displays a total lack of appreciation of the thin margins that most brokers operate under.

“The senior team at the FCA have said they hope to have the time to engage more with the industry later in 2022 than they have been able to do during the Covid-19 crisis. It is to be hoped that there is enough of an industry left by then, as the increasing regulatory cost burden makes this a less attractive place to be.

It is death by a thousand cuts, with increasing Financial Ombudsman Service fees, Financial Servives Compensation Scheme costs, consumer duty and the raw cost of the FCA activity and fees. Good firms cannot just keep having an escalating bill.”

When the FCA published its business plan it said: “We are publishing this business plan when the external environment is changing rapidly. The longer-term impact of Covid-19 continues to be uncertain. 

“Low levels of financial resilience and rising costs mean many people are at risk of serious financial problems. And this is happening against a backdrop of rising inflation and interest rates and major geopolitical uncertainty.

The impact of these factors will be felt by consumers and firms over the coming year and beyond. We will continue to monitor emerging issues and adapt our plans where necessary.”