LATEST FROM LEI WORLDWIDE

The world has seen enormous change over the past years, much of which can be attributed to technological and digital transformation. As a result, a plethora of new economic sectors have formed. Due largely to the Internet, interaction and communication between individuals, organizations, and countries have flourished. In terms of controlling the corporate sector and financial markets, this has created a lot of identity-related difficulties. Seeking out this control is where LEI Codes enter the picture. Simply put, LEI Codes are used to identify legal entities globally. This option enables improved standardization, risk control, and financial market transparency. This article will discuss LEI and its adaptation version, the vLEI.

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. 
 

LEI Registration is the process of applying for an LEI for any legal entity such as a Limited Company, LLC, Fund, Trust, Pension Scheme or any for of legally registered organisation. Usually LEI registration is compulsory under a litany of global LEI regulations. You may complete and LEI registration online by following the below guide to obtaining an LEI for your organisation. Find out what is LEI registration meaning, whether you require an LEI and how to complete the LEI application form here. 

The LEI Legal Entity Identifier is a requirement for many legal entities under a litany of global finacial regulations. Many legal entities requiring an LEI Number include Retirement Funds, Trusts, Pension Schemes and Insurance related schemes and policies. In the event that the beneficiary to any of these legal entities is another legal entity then it will also require an LEI Code for the purpose of legal entity identification in reporting. This allows regulators, market participants and overseers have full transparency and global identification of which entity is the beneficiary by having access to the global LEI directory. 

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 Global LEI System has been evolving since its inception, we saw LEI Level II Data, or Parent Structure reporting being initially introduced around 2015 by the LEI ROC. In 2022 there have also been some recent updates which include Fund Structure Reporting for LEIs and Entity Creation Date. 

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 vLEI, or Verifiable Legal Entity Identifier, establishes a decentralised and trusted way to verify not only legal entities, but the individuals with the rights to represent those entities, in realt time. A recent collaboration between GLEIF and PharmaLedger has resulted in the vLEI becoming a critical component of a new healthcare service blockchain platform. 

The 2022 Irish Funds Annual Global Funds Conference took place on May 31st 2022. LEI Worldwide were in attendance and sponsored the Annual Golf Outing and Exhibition space while a full day of interesting and thought-provoking presentations took place around the Convention Centre Dublin. 

LEI Worldwide showcased their API-tech driven LEI management solution at Stand 4 in the exhibition hall, a spot held by the 2022 FinTech Factor Winners every year. The conference was "the biggest ever" in its history with nearly 600 delegates gathering from the global Funds industry for the first time since 2019.

Inventing Anna is currently one of the most trending TV series on Netflix. What can it teach us about #digitalidentity #customeronboarding and the efficacy of the #LEI?

The show highlights how the LEI system can prevent fraud, and assist financial institutions with their efforts against money-laundering and enhance customer onboarding and due dilligence through the use of the Legal Entity Identifier.

*spoiler alert*

The Reserve Bank of India has set a 3 year timetable for non-individual (corporate) borrowers with an exposure of over Rs 5 crore+ to obtain an LEI (Legal Entity Identifier).

The LEI is a 20 digit identifier code that helps bring more transparency and trust to transaction, clearly identifying who is whom in any given financial transaction. It is currently mandated by over 116+ laws globally and this is set to expand with India leading the way. 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extends LEI guidelines to large borrowers of NBFCs and Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks. Borrowers who fail to obtain a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) from authorized LEI Issuers shall not be sanctioned any new exposure nor shall they be granted renewal/enhancement of any existing exposure.

On the 1st, March 2022 the LEI ROC (Regulatory Oversight Committee) issued new CDF (Common Data Files) Formats. LEI Worldwide have implemented the changes in its RAMP LEI management platform. 

LEI Fund structure reporting: Complex Fund structures will now be able report their structure in a more transparent manner. 
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LEI Worldwide joined the ranks of past winners of the esteemed FinTech Factor competition hosted by Irish Funds on 25th March 2022. 

LEI Worldwide is a fully digital, cloud based FinTech specialising in the procurement and management of Legal Entity Identifiers. 

The presentation delivered by the Group CEO of LEI Worldwide, Darragh Hayes, explained the relevance and necessity of the LEI, drawing upon real life examples illustrating how it could have been used to prevent the infamous and trending TV show ‘Inventing Anna’.

With the rapid digitisation of the global economy new innovations are surfacing which unlock pain points and replace outdated processes. Sometimes these innovations fit together perfectly, in this case we will look at the applicability of the LEI acting as the KYC layer to Central Bank Digital Currencies.

CBDCs using the LEI as a KYC layer harness the benefits of cryptocurrencies, blockchain and distributed ledger technology, while mitigating the downsides they present to a normal, healthy functional banking system.

Darragh Hayes, CEO of LEI Worldwide - Legal Entity Identifier, discusses how the Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) help both regulators and clients in verifying the identity of the company and the officials involved in financial transaction.