FINRA Returns $100 Million in Regulatory Fees to Member Firms

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is returning $100 million in regulatory fees to eligible member firms, doubling the $50 million rebate it distributed last year.

FINRA’s Board of Governors approved the rebate in December, citing higher-than-expected net income in 2025 driven primarily by elevated trading activity and industry revenue. The funds will be distributed March 31 via a credit to firms’ Flex-Funding accounts in FINRA E-Bill.

To qualify, firms must have been in good standing as of Dec. 31, 2025, and paid FINRA fees in 2025. Each firm’s rebate will be calculated starting with the full annual minimum fee of $1,200 – prorated if assessed for part of the year – with the remainder allocated proportionally based on each firm’s other 2025 regulatory fees.

FINRA’s board chair Scott A. Curtis, finance committee chair John Vaccaro, and President and CEO Robert W. Cook said in a letter to member firms that the rebate reflects the organization’s Financial Guiding Principles and its status as a not-for-profit membership organization. “Based on our updated projections, FINRA believes that the fee rebate will not adversely impact its short- or long-term financial planning or ability to perform our regulatory responsibilities for the benefit of investors, members, and capital markets,” they said.

Under FINRA’s Financial Guiding Principles, material surplus revenues may require a fee rebate or a reduction or deferral in fee increases — a mechanism the organization has now exercised in consecutive years. FINRA paid a $50 million rebate to member firms last July with respect to 2024 fees.

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