Advisers hit with £76m FSCS bill

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) will levy an estimated £76m on investment advisers in 2013/4, with failed firm Keydata highlighted as one of the main cases impacting the overall bill.

Keydata recovery costs are estimated to be £3.8m higher than budgeted for the current year at £7.7m, with a "similarly high level" of cost next year, the FSCS said. The total cost to the financial services industry as a whole is expected to be £311m, excluding the costs of the major bank defaults of 2008. That figure is up from the £265m total levy so far in 2012/13. FSCS Chief Executive Mark Neale said keeping costs to a minimum was "a key priority". "A major focus for FSCS in the coming year is to continue dealing with claims efficiently, effectively and meeting our service stand...