Guide to the LEI Search Tool

In order to understand the LEI status we need to know that an LEI is the only global identifier that requires annual renewal.

Annual renewal of an LEI code ensures that the data within each record has recently been updated and can be counted on as being up to date. If an LEI has not been renewed in the last 12 months is will be shown as Lapsed. 

LEI Issued: The LEI data has been renewed within the last year.

LEI Lapsed: The LEI data may be out of date and data quality cannot be guaranteed.

There are over 116+ LEI regulations mandating the use of an LEI globally and many regulation required counterparties to transaction to maintain an active LEI number. For example the FCA mandate the use of the LEI Number in the UK and keeping it active. 

Previously, if you were communicating with a company from across the world, you had to rely on information provided by their website, or local registry listings to find out who they were. This can cost valuable time and resources and much registry information may be in another language, or that country may have strict privacy regulations with regards to data they can provide.This also made it difficult for banks and other institutions to onboard new clients as KYC practices were relying on old and unconsolidated data.

Now, when dealing with another company, checking if they have an LEI is a sure way to know they exist and are who they say they are.
 
In many instances, the LEI checker can provide an organizational structure or parent information. For example, by looking at the LEI of Alphabet Inc, you can easily see that it owns Google and the family tree and all subsidiary entities associated with the global corporation.

​Registry information can be hard to access and needed to be collected into a single database. Lacking a reliable, trustworthy identifier it could become laborious and costly to onboard new clients and confirm identity (it is now estimated in research conducted by McKinsey that the LEI could save banks up to 2-4 billion Dollars annually in KYC processes).

History of the LEI: Following the 2008 market crash, issue with transparency in the markets caused a litany of issues with regard to identifying counter parties in transactions. When the stock market crashed, thousands of funds and trusts were unidentifiable and the fall resulted caused mass confusion. The lack of transparency put financial institutions and banks in a vulnerable position.

This was addressed at the G20 Summit of June 2011, who created the concept of the LEI. The idea was to create a digital database, of all legal entities which was easily accessible, reliable and up to date.

What is an LEI number used for? LEI Codes are simply used to identify legal entities on a global scale. This allows for great transparency in financial markets, standardisation, and greater risk control.​

According to LEI ROC the LEI no. was conceived to be used by the private sector to support improved risk management, increased operational efficiency, more accurate calculation of exposures, and other needs.

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Still cant find an LEI Code?

Don't worry.. Our team are experts and will help you locate any LEI code, if it exists we will find it. In many cases companies cannot find their own LEI codes,  our team are very experienced in navigating the LEI database and will be happy to help you conduct KYC checks free of charge. 

What information is shown on an LEI record?

LEI reference data is separated into Level 1 data and Level 2 data.

Level 1 data refers to the entity's legal name, country, ID number, legal address.

The Level 1 data includes the registration details including an initial date of registration, next renewal and managing LOU (Local Operating Unit). Most importantly it outlines if the LEI code is issued or not.

The Level 2 data includes information about an entity's parental structure - its direct and ultimate parent. A separate tab that displays a log of changes made to the LEI entry can also be found, which will allow you examine amendments or additions more closely without having search through all previous records looking for ones with similar text input into their names!

When using the LEI search feature, it is easy to find any legal entity with just a few clicks. If you enter an incomplete or unknown code for another corporation's identity, this tool will automatically offer suggestions based on what was inputted into its system before.

Finally but importantly - if one enters their company name in addition to providing some additional identifying information like corporate standard-bearers (i e., articles of incorporation), then there are four different options available which include "left" as well as other common words relevant specifically towards businesses such  as entity type e.g Limited Company or Fund.