The FCA announced that it is intensifying its supervision of so-called Annex 1 firms — unregulated lenders, money brokers, safe-custody providers and financial-leasing companies that must register for anti-money-laundering purposes. The regulator flagged concerns that some rely on a parent group's controls or generic procedures rather than assessing their own financial-crime risk, and confirmed it has written to roughly 900 registered firms and is slowing new registration decisions.
For retail forex and CFD traders the direct read-across is limited, but the distinction it draws is worth internalising. Annex 1 registration is an AML formality, not a licence to offer investment products. A firm can be "registered" with the FCA for money-laundering purposes while holding no authorisation to sell CFDs or provide leveraged trading at all.
The practical takeaway: verify a broker's authorisation status directly on the register before depositing, and treat vague "FCA-registered" wording with suspicion. Readers should stick to fully authorised UK or EU/ESMA firms — those bound by leverage caps, negative-balance protection and compensation-scheme cover — rather than merely AML-registered entities.