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The development of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) and Global LEI System (GLEIS) created in response to the 2008 financial crisis has since significantly enhanced global legal entity identity verification. GLEIS is a publicly accessible global database that assigns a unique 20-digit code (LEI) to legal entities involved in financial transactions, enhancing transparency and trust between counterparties and market participants. Over 2.5 million companies worldwide have obtained LEIs, making it a standard for identifying entities in trade. GLEIF, a non-profit global organization, oversees the operational integrity of the global LEI system.

A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI number) is a unique 20-character code assigned to a legal entity or company, which contains a  record of information about the entity, such as its identity and group structure. 

The LEI was created in 2013 and is globally recognized and endorsed by the G20 as the single most important identifier in the financial ecosystem. It is the only unique identifier, that is both global, annually renewable, regulator and central bank backed making it unique.

The GLEIS (Global LEI System) has far-reaching benefits, beyond just improving transparency in capital markets, including its use in banking, client onboarding, Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, and anti-money laundering efforts. 

The LEI offers a standardized, free and easily accessible means of identifying and verifying the identity of any legal entity, enhancing credibility and transparency in the eyes of regulators, customers, and other stakeholders.

'LEIConsolidate' with LEI Worldwide is a simple, bulk transfer process for organizations with large amounts of scattered LEIs across multiple providers and countries. Benefits include improved control and visibility with a centralized dashboard, reduced costs, increased efficiency, and improved LEI data quality. LEI Consolidation streamlines the compliance process and helps organizations efficiently manage all group LEIs.

In this article, we explore the costs and pricing of obtaining an LEI, including registration fees, renewal fees, and application fees. We also emphasize the importance of choosing a reliable and trustworthy provider, even if it may come at a higher cost. At LEI Worldwide, we help businesses not only obtain LEIs in the fastest and easiest way possible, but we also assist companies to consolidate, manage and commercialise existing LEI portfolios. 

ELF Codes refer to an Entity Legal Form and are a subest of identifiers based on the LEI (Legal Entity Identifier) and ISO Standard 20275: Financial services — Entity legal forms (ELF).

The Compliance chain consists of four primary components. Onboarding, monitoring, detection, reporting and also includes internal processing tools and controls used by organisations to meet their regulatory and compliance obligations. The LEI adds value to each link in the chain, and is omnipresent across the entire compliance function that is used daily by regulated organisations. This article provides contect for each component and how the Legal Entity Identifier can play its role in streamlining and enhancing the effectiveness each funtion. 

Ever wondered what an LEI is, and how it could help your business/organisation, or even if you are required by law to have one? The LEI is a 20-digit alphanumeric code that identifies legal entities participating in financial transactions. Each LEI is different and includes reference information that allows for an entity's simple and fast identification. LEI data is publicly available and open to all as an international standard (based on ISO 17442).  Although businesses frequently have business registration numbers in the nation they are incorporated within, an LEI is an international standard created to facilitate more seamless international transactions. The requirements for business registration will differ by government, but the LEI format is universal. Many companies are required by their regulator in the US to report a active LEI Code. Likewise, this is being enforced globally in a bid to increase transparency not only across financial markets but across the private sector too.

The global LEI system is a public, freely accessible database consisting of currently more that 2 million Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs), the purpose of which is to contain key reference data on legal entities. The LEI Search Tool is how you can check on any existing LEI Number and use it to look up Legal Entity Identifiers in real time.  The LEI Checker may be accessed by any interested party and used to search for LEI codes, or to find out about another legal entity. To conduct an LEI search begin by reading below. The LEI search tool is very easy to use and proves a full LEI record page of each company that has an LEI, and it is updated daily providing fresh, reliable data derived from source. 

The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is the globally standardised code that harnesses the collective power and fills the gaps left by other identifiers that are used across various industries, jurisdictions and types of legal entities. The issue with having multiple identifiers is such that there can be no single, standardised database of all legal entities using a common identifier. The LEI can be visualised as a overarching, universal identifier common to all legal entities, while other identifiers, still useful in their own rights are used for more narrow and specific reasons. There are currently over 40 million ISIN codes in existence, and just over 2 million LEIs. As the LEI becomes more prominent and widely used this gap will lessen. Many legal entities will end up having multiple identifiers such as the ISIN, BIC and an LEI. The process of pairing LEIs with their corresponding ISINs, is called ISIN to LEI mapping. LEI mapping is commonly used by banks, researchers and data specialists to convert a list of LEIs into a list of corresponding ISINs to increase coverage of their internal entity data. 

The Legal Entity Identifier system was born out of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008 when the need for greater transparency was realised after the collapse of Lehmann Brothers. The LEI purpose is to provide more available data on ‘Who is Who’, and especially ‘Who belongs to Whom’ within the global financial marketplace. 
 

An LEI Transfer is the act of moving an LEI from one provider, or LEI issuer to another. A bulk transfer request can be made in order to bring all of a companies organisations LEIs under one roof. Transferring an LEI may take up to 7 days to complete, however they can be done for free and do not change any of the LEI data or the 20 digit LEI code itself.

LEI Worldwide provide an LEI transfer facility on the RAMP engine. You can easily transfer one, or multiple LEIs using our dashboard fro your existing LEI issuer. We generally recommend renewing an LEI upon transfer, however this can also be done free of charge. If you would like to find out mor about LEI transfer, how and why you can complete one please read on. 

The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) system is the first global identifier for organisations and legal entities such as businesses which provides unique reference data on each entity within an organsiations structure. In the aftermath of the collapse of Lehamann Bros in 2008 it became apparent that an new system capable of sheeding light on an organisations entire structure spanning all jurisdictions was needed. Each unique LEI record reports data on the parent and child entities releavant to that legal entity.

The Global LEI System (GLEIS) is composed of a number of Local Operating Units and LEI Registration Agents from which you can obtain an LEI. How to choose one that suits your needs.

The LEI System was created by the G20 Nations after the last Global Financial Crisis in 2008. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) appointed the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) to oversee the implementation of a new identifier system to prove a single, standardised ISO (17442) identifier to all global market participants. To date there have been over 1 million LEIs issued globally and it has been driven primarily by regulation in order to create more transparency and security in global markets. 

The GLEIF appointed 30 LOUs located around the world to allocate LEIs and invented the concept of a Registration Agent to streamline the assignment of LEIs to companies globally. 

The process of obtaining an LEI number has never been more complicated, but has been simplified with the introduction of LEI Worldwide. With a lot of options, you may be wondering which LOU you should register your number with?