LEI or Legal Entity Identifier.
What is the global Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)?
The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a unique identifier, which allows for the identification of legally independent entities across global financial markets. It represents an innovative cross-country, cross-legal system, and cross-market solution.
The creation of the Global LEI System is a direct result of the recent financial crisis and a reaction to the difficulties experienced by banks and regulatory agencies to quickly identify complex corporate relationships as well as links between issuers and securities.
While the use of a LEI is already in place of derivatives, its use will be mandatory also for transactions in equity and other financial instruments as from January 2018.
