Feedback on Consultation Paper No. 10 2020: Trust Company Business Fees

Summary

This is the JFSC's feedback paper on Consultation Paper No. 10 2020, which had proposed changes to Trust Company Business (TCB) fees. It summarises industry responses and confirms the final fee changes the JFSC is adopting, effective 1 January 2021, replacing the previous fee mechanism with a modified version of the consultation's Option 2.

• Fee structure change: Amendment of fee rates broadly in line with Option 2 (desensitising employee and licence numbers), retaining the employee metric but reweighting fees per licence.
• Fees cap increased: The registration fee cap rises to the greater of £90,000 or 95% of the fee that would otherwise be payable (up from £80,000/90% in 2020), described as the final year of a multi-year phase-out of the cap.
• Rolling averages: TCB employee numbers and licences held will now be calculated using a five-year rolling average rather than a single-year snapshot.
• New amendment (alteration) fee: A new £400 fee per registered person per class of licence applies to changes of name, addition/alteration/removal of licence conditions, or removal of a licence class, including consolidation projects.
• New change of control fee: A new fee (equal to the application fee) applies to transactions meeting the change of control criteria in Article 14 of the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998, payable by the acquiring party; a £1,000 premium applies at affiliation level for firms in heightened supervision or enforcement. Alteration fees and change of control fees will not both be charged for the same event.
• Revised base/licence/employee rates: Final 2021 rates include base fee £2,350 (affiliation leader/non-affiliated person), £950 per licence class/natural person, and tiered employee-count fees ranging from £500 (first 10 employees) down to £120 (100+ employees), as set out in the fees notice schedule.

The finalised fee rates and mechanisms are set out in the TCB Fees Notice reproduced as Appendix B, which also restates payment timing, late payment and late filing fee provisions and the fee cap.

Key obligations

• Registered TCB persons must pay annual registration fees calculated using the new five-year rolling average of employee numbers and licences held, per the fees notice.
• A registered person undergoing a change of control (per Article 14 FSJL criteria) must pay the change of control fee, generally payable by the acquiring party.
• A registered person seeking an alteration (name change, addition/alteration/removal of licence conditions, or removal of a licence class) must pay a £400 fee per registered person per class of licence.
• Firms in heightened supervision or enforcement are subject to an additional £1,000 premium at the affiliation level for change of control fees.
• Annual TCB fees are due for payment by 28 February each year, per the fees notice.
• Firms must supply required data via myJFSC for fee calculation; failure to do so by the due date triggers an administration fee of £200 per month outstanding, in addition to late payment fees.
• Late payment of registration fees incurs a fee from the day after the due date and on the first day of each subsequent calendar month.
• Failure to file or deliver any required document by its due date incurs a late filing fee of £100 per complete month or part thereof outstanding, unless the JFSC has agreed in writing to a later filing date.

Applies to

Trust Company Business (TCB) registered persons, affiliation leaders, participating members, non-affiliated persons, natural persons carrying on a single class of trust company business, Class O registered persons

Deadlines

• 1 January 2021: New TCB fee rates and fee mechanism (Option 2, revised fees cap, five-year rolling averages, alteration and change of control fees) become effective.
• 28 February: Due date each year for payment of annual TCB registration fees under the fees notice.