Information on annex 1 firms

Reference Case Number: FOI2026/00444

Freedom of Information: Right to know request:

Please provide an up-to-date list of all Annex 1 Lending firms, as per information disclosed in response published on your Disclosure Log FOI11203[1].

This list here is what I would like but just up to date. This list is as of April 2024, I would like the most recent information.

FCA response:

We note that you have asked for a list of Annex 1 lending firms, based on the information disclosed in our response reference, FOI11203[2]. We would like to clarify that what was provided in that response was a list of all Annex 1 financial institutions, and not those only specific to lending.

We have therefore provided you with an updated list of all financial institutions currently registered with the FCA as conducting the financial activities listed in Annex 1 of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (2017/692), as amended (“the MLRs”). Please see the provided information in Annex A.

We can confirm that the number of Annex 1 financial institutions registered with the FCA is 1145 as at 26 February 2026.

If you are interested in only those firms that provide lending services specifically, we are not able to provide this as such disclosure would reveal information that is, or contains, ‘confidential information’ for the purposes of Regulation 52A of the MLRs. Therefore, for the reasons set out in Annex B below, we are exempted from the duty to disclose it under section 44 of FOIA.

Annex B

General right of access to information held by public authorities

Anyone making a request for information to a public authority is entitled to be told in writing by the public authority whether it holds the information the request describes. If the public authority does hold this information, the person requesting it has the right to have the information communicated to them. These rights, in section 1(1)(a) and (b) of FOIA, have some exclusions and exemptions.

Section 44 (Prohibitions on Disclosure)

Section 44(1)(a) of FOIA states that information is absolutely exempt from disclosure if this is prohibited by law.

Regulation 52A of the MLRs prevents us from disclosing confidential information we have received except in certain limited circumstances (none of which would apply here). In particular subsection (1) provides that:

‘No person working for a relevant supervisory authority, or acting on behalf of a relevant supervisory authority (or who has worked or acted for a relevant supervisory authority) may, except in accordance with this regulation, disclose any confidential information received in the course of their duties under these Regulations.’

The information you requested in the second part of your request is confidential information which was received by the FCA in the discharge of its functions under the MLRs. Disclosing such confidential information, except in the circumstances permitted by the MLRs, would breach regulation 52A of the MLRs and would constitute an offence under regulation 52B of the same Regulations.

Section 44 is also an ‘absolute’ exemption, and so it is not necessary to balance the public interest for and against disclosing the information.

Supporting document

FOI2026/00444 Annex A[3]

Date of Release: 11/02/2026

Information on annex 1 firms - March 2026

Freedom of Information: Right to know request:

FCA response:

Annex B

Supporting document

More information

Data