FMA Cost Ordinance 2016: New Cost Allocation for Investment Firms

The Financial Market Authority (FMA) has revised its 2016 Cost Ordinance. The amending ordinance was published on September 3, 2026, in the Federal Law Gazette for the Republic of Austria (Part II) as BGBl. II No. 266/2026 and will enter into force on September 30, 2026.

The basis for the ordinance is Section 89 (2) of the Securities Supervision Act 2018 (WAG 2018) in conjunction with Section 160 (1a) of the Recovery and Resolution Act (BaSAG). The FMA Cost Ordinance 2016, BGBl. II No. 419/2015, most recently amended by BGBl. II No. 201/2025, is being amended. The document is signed by Ettl and Kühnel.

New Cost Allocation based on K-Factors

The central intervention concerns Section 17a of the ordinance. According to this, the FMA shall henceforth determine the contributions payable by the parties liable for costs pursuant to Section 13 (1) No. 8 based on their share of the total sum of the total requirements for K-factors according to Art. 15 IFR.

The reference data used are the total requirements for K-factors reported as of the balance sheet date of the respective party liable for costs in the FMA financial year being billed. This aligns the cost allocation for resolution-relevant investment firms with the regulatory own funds logic of Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 (IFR).

Updated References to 23 Federal Acts

Section 22 of the ordinance is completely recast and specifies which version of the referenced federal acts is to be applied. Those affected include, among others:

• FMABG (BGBl. I No. 97/2001) in the version BGBl. I No. 28/2026
• BWG (BGBl. No. 532/1993) in the version BGBl. I No. 46/2026
• ZaDiG 2018 (BGBl. I No. 17/2018) in the version BGBl. I No. 59/2026
• BaSAG (BGBl. I No. 98/2014) in the version BGBl. I No. 5/2026
• VAG 2016 (BGBl. I No. 34/2015) in the version BGBl. I No. 6/2026
• WAG 2018 (BGBl. I No. 107/2017) in the version BGBl. I No. 57/2026
• BörseG 2018 (BGBl. I No. 107/2017) in the version BGBl. I No. 62/2026
• InvFG 2011, AIFMG and ImmoInvFG, each in the version BGBl. I No. 57/2026
• FM-GwG (BGBl. I No. 118/2016) in the version BGBl. I No. 151/2024
• MiCA-VVG (BGBl. I No. 111/2024) in the version BGBl. I No. 5/2026

A total of 23 federal acts are referenced in their currently applicable versions. Additionally, references to Union law are updated, including CRR, CSDR, EMIR, MiFIR, MiFID II, BMR, ECSPR, IFR, the DLT Pilot Regime Regulation, and MiCAR.

Entry into Force and Significance

With the new Section 23 (19), it is stipulated that Section 17a and Section 22 in the version of Ordinance BGBl. II No. 266/2026 shall enter into force on September 30, 2026. The new regulation affects all financial institutions supervised by the FMA, particularly resolution-relevant investment firms.

For the affected institutes, the change means a more transparent cost allocation oriented towards the regulatory K-factors. At the same time, the regulation ensures that all references to federal laws and Union law correspond to the current legal status, which is of central importance for the legal certainty of those liable for costs.

Source: Federal Law Gazette for the Republic of Austria, Part II, No. 266, issued on September 3, 2026 (official reference: BGBl. II No. 266/2026).