The Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) has released the first test file of provisional legal entity identifiers (LEIs), the code system being created to identify corporate entities around the globe.
The file of nearly 2,700 LEIs is available to download here in Excel or XML format.
These first LEIs were created by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and SWIFT. LEIs include a unique code along with the legal name of the corporate entity, its street address, city, state country and other basic details. The purpose of LEIs is to create a standard way for organizations around the globe to identify corporate entities.
GFMA says it is publishing the data now so financial market participants can begin to evaluate, understand and test the use of LEIs, which are expected to grow as regulatory mandates come through the pipeline.
The Office of Financial Research, established under Dodd-Frank, asked the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to collect data from financial institutions in the U.S. in order to analyze systemic risk. LEIs were born out of a need for the FSOC to have a standardized way to collect this information. Since the development of this model for LEIs, many other regulators and financial institutions around the globe have developed an interested in adopting LEIs, although regulatory mandates have yet to happen.
GFMA expected a global LEI Solution to be phased in given cooperation between the G20, Financial Stability Board (FSB), other regulatory bodies, and the financial services industry.
A uniform, globally consistent LEI Solution will provide regulators with a powerful tool to better monitor systemic risk and enable individual firms to more effectively measure counterparty exposure, the association said in a statement. GFMA applauds the FSBs statement of support for a global LEI Solution and the establishment of a private sector advisory group in its most recent work plan. We appreciate the work being done by the FSB, and regulators around the globe to determine the best approach for a global LEI Solution. GFMA remains committed to working with all stakeholders through this process.
For more on LEIs, see Standardizing legal entity identification, Global Custodian, Winter 2011.
(CG)