The (LEI) is a globally unique identifier for every legal organization or structure involved in a financial transaction, regardless of country. LEIL will assign LEIs to any legal entity that is a party to a financial transaction, including but not limited to all intermediate institutions, banks, mutual funds, partnership companies, trusts, holdings, special purpose vehicles, asset management organizations, and other entities. The LEI will be assigned after the legal entity submits an application and all data has been validated. LEI will work for the organization.
- Assist a financial entity in establishing its identity.
- Assisting with regulatory compliance
- Reporting transactions to Trade Repositories should be made easier.
What is the LEI number? The LEI number is based on the ISO 17442 standard, and each LEI is globally allocated to just one Legal Entity.
The Global LEI Foundation manages and operates the ecosystem, which is known as the Global LEI System or GLEIS. After clearing a rigorous accreditation process, a few organizations are granted the right to issue Legal Entity Identifiers, and these organizations are formally known as LOUs – Legal Operating Units.
The LEI is based on four basic principles:
- It is an international standard.
- Each legal entity is given a single, unique identifier.
- It is backed up by high-quality evidence.
- It is a public good that is provided to all users for free.
When a legal entity obtains an LEI, the organization that issued the LEI will publish it together with the accompanying LEI reference data. This means that the entire LEI population’s data is always open to the public for unrestricted access by anyone interested.
The ISO 17442 standard requires the following minimal reference data for each LEI:
- The legal entity’s formal name is recorded in the official registries.
- The legal entity’s registered address.
- The country where the formation took place.
- The codes are used to represent the names of countries and sub-national units.
- The date of the first LEI assignment; the date of the most recent update of the LEI information; and, if applicable, the date of expiry.
With open, standardized, and high-quality LEI data, you can connect the corporate dots all across the world.
When it comes to the dissemination of information about direct and ultimate parents, there are different procedures for those with and without an LEI.
If an LEI registrant’s direct and/or ultimate parents have received an LEI, the parent’s LEI is published alongside the child entity’s LEI record. The LEI of the child entity or entities will be displayed in the LEI record of an organization that is the direct or ultimate parent of another organization that has earned an LEI.
If an LEI registrant’s direct and/or ultimate parents do not have an LEI, the child legal entity is required to provide the LEI issuing organization with reference data on its direct and ultimate parents. However, the reference data submitted by a child entity for its direct and ultimate parents without an LEI is currently not disclosed following applicable rules.
