The FSCS announced today (14 March) that it was issuing a £60m interim levy on the investment intermediary sector to cover costs of claims.

The American financial services firm MF Global, which went into special administration in November 2011, accounts for £27m worth of the compensation claims.

Compensation has not yet begun being paid out to MF Global victims but over 4,000 customers have already sent in application forms and more are expected in the next few weeks.

The FSCS can pay out a maximum of £50,000 per eligible customer.

Other firms accounting for the increased levy are Keydata Investment Services which accounts for £15m and stockbroking firm Wills and Co which accounts for £9m. Other firms such as CF Arch Cru account for £2m.

The remaining £9m is made up of FSCS management expenses.

The FSCS said the reason for the increase was that its costs were ‘higher than previously assumed’. Particularly regarding Keydata, the firm said it had more decisions and paid out more compensation than it had previously expected to.

An interim levy will cover the FSCS until the next levy is paid in July. The FSCS had announced earlier this year that an interim levy would be at least £40m.