Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)

The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is an internationally standardised 20-character alphanumeric code under ISO 17442 that uniquely identifies legal entities participating in financial transactions globally. The system was developed in response to the 2008 financial crisis to improve transparency in global financial markets.

• Purpose: Unique identification of legal entities in financial transactions
• Standard: ISO 17442 (20-character alphanumeric code)
• Management: Global LEI System (GLEIS) under GLEIF oversight
• Usage: Mandatory in numerous regulations (EMIR, MiFID II, SFTR, FATCA reporting)
• Renewal: Annual renewal and validation of reference data required
• vLEI: Verifiable LEI (ISO 17442-3:2024) enables cryptographically verifiable digital organisational identity

The LEI emerged from the lessons of the global financial crisis 2007–2009, when regulators recognised that the absence of standardised identifiers severely hampered the analysis of systemic risks and counterparty exposures. The G20 mandated the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to develop a global identification system.

In November 2011, the G20 at the Cannes Summit mandated the FSB to prepare recommendations for a global LEI system. On 8 June 2012, the FSB published its report with recommendations for the Global LEI System (GLEIS), endorsed by the G20 at the Los Cabos Summit. In November 2012, the LEI ROC Charter was adopted. ISO standard 17442 was published in 2012. GLEIF was established in 2014 as the central management organisation. Since then the LEI system has grown continuously: by 2024, over 2.6 million active LEIs had been registered. With the verifiable LEI (vLEI) and the publication of ISO 17442-3:2024 in October 2024, a cryptographically verifiable digital organisational identity was also established.

The LEI system applies globally to legal entities (companies, funds, government entities, etc.) participating in regulated financial transactions. It covers:

• All legal entities trading OTC derivatives (EMIR obligation in the EU)
• Financial market participants in securities trading (MiFID II / MiFIR)
• Counterparties in securities financing transactions (SFTR)
• Issuers and investors in certain capital market products
• Entities in FATCA and CRS reporting chains (as supplementary information)

Natural persons are explicitly excluded from the LEI system; separate identifiers exist for these (e.g. NID under MiFID II).

Core obligations related to the LEI:

• Registration: Legal entities must apply for an LEI at an accredited Local Operating Unit (LOU)
• Reference data (Level 1): Provision of name, legal form, legal address, headquarters address, registration number and registering authority
• Relationship data (Level 2): Disclosure of direct and ultimate parent entity (Who owns whom)
• Annual renewal: LEIs must be renewed annually and data updated (otherwise status becomes 'lapsed')
• Usage obligation: In regulatory reports (EMIR, MiFIR, SFTR) the valid LEI must be stated

3 corrections:
- Incorrect date and description for EMIR LEI obligation
- Incorrect publication date for ISO 17442
- Incorrect date for FSB recommendation in key_dates
2 updates:
- Missing recent developments: vLEI and ISO 17442-3:2024
- Number of LEIs issued in history section is outdated and understated
4 clarifications.