Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro Spa Ltd, registered at Companies House on 29 November 2021, was authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); and whether FCA approval was sought before the registration of the company.

Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro Spa Ltd is not authorised by the FCA, and not listed on the FCA register. There was an entity with the same name which was an EEA based firm that had permissions to passport into the UK until March 2008.

In September 2020 the Government announced reforms to Companies House.  These constitute the most significant changes to the role and powers of Companies House since its creation in 1844.

In February 2022 the Government published a white paper detailing the way the reforms will operate to strengthen and safeguard the UK’s business environment by tackling economic crime and supporting our national security, whilst delivering a more reliable companies register to underpin business activity.

More broadly, the Government takes issues of fraud very seriously. We continue to work closely with industry to close down the vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit. Companies House already supports law enforcement on hundreds of cases each month.