Consultation Paper Proposed Fee Changes October 2019

Summary

This is a Bermuda Monetary Authority consultation paper proposing a package of fee changes to the Fourth Schedule of the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969, intended to take effect from 1 January 2020. It invites industry feedback before finalisation and covers four distinct strands of fee revision.

• Corporate Service Providers (CSPs): Introduces a new tiered fee structure for licensed CSPs, replacing the flat $21 per entity served fee, with annual fees banded by number of entities serviced and differentiated application fees ($2,540 for limited licences, $5,000 for unlimited licences).
• Legislative change follow-through: New filing and annual fees for Private Funds under the Investment Funds Act 2006 (previously exempt as Excluded Funds); a new fee for approval of directors or service providers of Professional Class B Funds; new late filing fees for statements under sections 6(3D), 6B(2) and 8C(2); and reduced registration and annual fees for Insurance Market Places under the Insurance Amendment Act 2019.
• Innovation hub fees: Proposes a new statutory provision allowing the Authority to create and administer an innovation hub, with an initial hub fee ($3,000) and a three-month extension fee ($750), applicable to entities engaging with the hub regardless of whether they are otherwise regulated.
• Corrections: Technical corrections to fees currently misstated or omitted from the Fourth Schedule, to be included in a fees-related Bill before year-end.

As a consultation document, it does not itself impose binding fee obligations; it sets out proposals on which industry and other interested parties were asked to comment by a stated deadline before the changes could be implemented via legislation.

Key obligations

• Interested parties wishing to comment must submit views in writing to policy@bma.bm using the Summary Sheet for Consultation Comments no later than 8 November 2019.
• If adopted as proposed, licensed CSPs would need to pay annual fees determined by the fee-band corresponding to the number of entities serviced as at 31 December of the preceding year, and differentiated application fees depending on licence type.
• If adopted, operators of Professional Class B Funds would need to pay a fee for applications to the Authority for approval of a director or service provider appointment under section 8A(8) of the Investment Funds Act 2006.
• If adopted, Private Funds (as a class of Registered Fund) would become subject to initial filing fees and annual fees under the Investment Funds Act 2006.
• If adopted, late filing fees of $50 per month would apply to filings required under sections 6(3D), 6B(2) and 8C(2) of the Investment Funds Act 2006.

Applies to

Corporate Service Providers, Investment funds (Private Funds, Professional Class A and B Funds), Insurers and Insurance Market Places, Digital asset businesses, Entities engaging with the innovation hub

Deadlines

• 8 November 2019: Deadline for stakeholders to submit written comments on the proposed fee changes to policy@bma.bm.
• 1 January 2020: Proposed effective date for the fee changes if implemented.