Frederick Jace
LEI, (Legal Entity Identification) number are an alphanumeric identifier that is assigned to each legal entity such as a limited liability company (LLC), a fund or trust, or any other organisation. The LEI code is made up of a collection of letters and numbers totalling 20 characters. This code enables each entity to be recognised in a global database of entities that can be searched by number rather than by name, which is useful since many entities may have names that are similar or the same as each other. The LEI is an ISO standard, and it is currently a legal necessity for many enterprises operating in the global financial system, according to the World Bank. Know more about LEI at leiservice.com
How does LEI help identify legal entities?
Market players may be identified using the LEI, which is a method of identifying them on a single, standardised database. This provides reliable information on a firm that is easily available and absolutely free of charge to use and download. In a firm’s LEI record, you will find public information such as their name, address, where they are registered, and if they are a branch, or whether they are controlled by another “parent” company. So far, more than 2 million LEIs have been generated throughout the world, and the technology is swiftly becoming a worldwide standard in commercial transactions and financial transactions.
Significance of the LEI System
Previously, if a counterparty did not have a web presence, it was quite impossible to learn anything about them. This became a concern during the global financial crisis that occurred ten years ago. Due to the lack of transparency, financial institutions were placed in a vulnerable situation because a large number of organisations and money were unable to be identified. In addition, this caused challenges in the areas of risk assessment and disclosure of information.
The G20 established the LEI system in 2011 to guarantee that such an event would not occur in the future. The concept was to build a computerised database of all legal entities that was easy to access, accurate, and up to date, while also being cost effective. One single source of information, including large volumes of easily accessible, high-quality data, was established. With the help of the LEI Search Tool, you may have access to this publicly available database.
Purpose of LEI
In order to assist in the management of counterparty risk, the LEI was developed to facilitate the identification and linking of parties to financial transactions. In order to make systemic risk measuring and monitoring more efficient and cost-effective, it is being developed in order to aid in more cost-effective compliance with regulatory reporting requirements.
How does LEI help in the KYC process?
In the context of Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, LEI has already gained widespread acceptance. From LEI, you can see immediate credibility benefits. A great deal of study has been done on the use of LEIs as a cost-saving tool in the banking industry for KYC and onboarding. By integrating numerous sources and forms of identification, it is possible to come up with a more trustworthy identity statement. The LEI is the key connection between all of the regional, or private sector, identities.
