After another strong year for the U.S. securities industry, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) is returning US$100 million to its members — double the fee rebate that it paid the previous year.
In a letter to its members, the U.S. self-regulatory organization’s board announced its plans for fee rebates that will be paid out at the end of March to eligible firms that paid membership fees last year.
The payout reflects the fact that that the regulator collected excess fees during a year of strong industry performance, amid robust equity market returns and increased market volatility, which boosted firms’ trading revenues and generated “higher-than-expected net income,” FINRA noted.
As a result, the regulator collected higher-than-expected fees — and, given its status as a non-profit, FINRA typically either rebates fees or defers future fee increase to reflect the excess revenues.
This year, “after consideration of FINRA’s updated projections regarding revenues, expenses, and overall market conditions for the next several years,” the regulator’s board approved the rebate for firms that were “in good standing” as of Dec. 2025 and that paid FINRA fees in 2025.
The rebates that each firm receives will be allocated based on the fees that it paid in the past year, starting with the annual minimum fee of US$1,200, “with the remainder allocated proportionally based on each firm’s other 2025 regulatory fees.”
Last year, the SRO rebated US$50 million to its members.