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Can a business invest in stocks?

Yes, a business can invest in stocks to diversify its investments and generate a financial return. There are a few different ways a company can invest in stocks, depending on the business's legal structure and the investment's goals. Continue reading...

GLEIF’s verifiable LEI issuer qualification program

GLEIF (the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation) has launched its new Verifiable LEI Issuer Qualification Program. This program is designed to help businesses everywhere establish trust with their partners and customers through the use of LEIs (Legal Entity Identifiers). The Verifiable LEI (vLEI) will play a critical role in this process by allowing businesses to automatically verify the identity of their partners and customers. Continue reading...

What are child entities and how do they relate to other entities?

A child entity is a type of entity that is defined in relation to another, specific entity called the parent. Child entities can be thought of as subordinates or dependents of their parents. In some cases, child entities may have their own independent existence, but they cannot exist without their parents. In other cases, child entities are simply a subset of data that is stored alongside the parent entity. In this article, we will discuss the different types of relationships between entities and explain how child entities work within those relationships. Continue reading...

Do I need an LEI when selling shares?

A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a unique code required by any legal entity that invests in financial instruments through a regulated exchange (this includes shares, bonds, collective investment schemes, derivatives, and more). When the legal entity executes a transaction, this identifier is used to identify it. Continue reading...

Business transparency: How to create an environment of trust?

Quite simply, you can define business transparency as the act of being open and honest with all stakeholders - employees, customers, suppliers, and the community at large. In this article, we will explore what transparency means for business leaders and how they can create an environment of trust within their organizations. Continue reading...

Anti Money Laundering (AML) in banking: Everything you need to know

Money laundering is the process of disguising the origins of money that has been obtained illegally. Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations are put in place to prevent banks and other financial institutions from being used to launder money. In this article, we will discuss AML in banking and how it affects financial institutions. We will also provide a detailed overview of the AML process and discuss some common AML compliance issues. Continue reading...

What is a parent company and how does it work?

A parent company is a company that owns another company. Parent companies can be in charge of the day-to-day operations of their subsidiaries, or they can simply provide financial and managerial support. In most cases, parent companies are larger than their subsidiaries and have a more significant role in the overall operation of the business. Continue reading...

ISO 5009 – Identifying organizational roles

In 2022 the organization came out with a new standard ISO 5009: to recognize official organizational roles in a business entity with digital IDs, which can be used to authenticate the identity of authorized representatives for meeting the KYC and related regulatory requirements of business transactions. Continue reading...

ISO 17442 – Standard for LEI code structure

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a global, independent, non-governmental standard development organization, composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. These standards are formulas for doing something- they can be about making products, managing processes, or delivering services - covering a huge range of activities. Continue reading...

Who is an LOU in the LEI dimension?

A Local Operating Unit (LOU) is an authorized organization that issues LEI codes. You'll find a list of official LOUs (or LEI Issuers) on the GLEIF website. LOU-s supply registration, renewal, and other services related to the LEI code. Continue reading...

GMEI Utility vs LEI Register

The Global LEI System is designed to encourage competition between LEI issuers and registrators for the benefit of legal entities seeking to obtain an LEI. Coming up with the price of issuing and maintaining an LEI has therefore been left to the organizations themselves. This explains why some companies charge double the price of their competitors.  Continue reading...

Lapsed LEI – Why should you keep your LEI active?

Your Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) must be renewed annually. Failure to renew the LEI will change it from an ACTIVE status into a LAPSED status in the Global LEI System index. A lapsed LEI can cause major inconveniences, as your trades will be blocked and as a financial institution, you even face a risk of non-compliance fines. Continue reading...

Who is an LEI Registration Agent?

An LEI Registration Agent's role is to help legal entities, who are looking to obtain an LEI code. The concept of Registration Agents was introduced by GLEIF to further streamline the issuance of LEIs. A Registration Agent's success is solely determined by their ability to offer competitive prices and by simplifying the LEI registration or renewal process for their clients. Continue reading...

Are LEIs public?

The Global LEI System was developed for a more transparent global financial market. A company's LEI will be public and contain data about the company's registered and trading names; company type; registered address; registration number; parent company information; child company information. You'll be able to access this public database, free of charge through LEI Search.  Continue reading...

Can an individual have an LEI?

As the name suggests, Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is meant for legal entities, not individuals. To date, an individual person or a group of people cannot register for an LEI. Whereas having an LEI is a requirement for legal entities worldwide.  Continue reading...

Do LEI numbers need to be renewed?

The Global LEI System was created for a more transparent and accurate identification of legal entities that operate within today’s financial system. In order to keep the data relevant and up to date, the LEI numbers need to be renewed annually. Once your deadline passes, the registration defaults to "lapsed" and you won't be able to make any trades until the number has been renewed. Continue reading...

Why is an LEI code required?

A Legal Entity Identifier number or code is required to ensure a more transparent financial market. The initiative was created after the 2008 global financial crisis, with hopes to avoid any future global economic shocks of that severity. The LEI code is now essential for legal entities that operate within today's financial system. A company's LEI record will contain public information, that is accessible through a global database. Continue reading...

Who needs an LEI code?

Who needs an LEI number? LEI is needed by legal entities who take part in financial transactions and who wish to trade in financial markets, such as buying stocks, bonds, or other securities. There are also many regulations (dependant on jurisdictions) that require obtaining an LEI. Continue reading...

How much does an LEI code cost?

The Global LEI System (GLEIS) has been set up in a way where LEI cost can differ among various service providers. Obtaining an LEI number can cost you anywhere between $65 to $200, depending on who you're registering with. Since the number needs to be updated yearly - the costs will start to add up. For this reason, we encourage you to pay close attention to the price and take it as the primary factor when registering an LEI code. Continue reading...

LEI Lookup – Fully dedicated LEI search website

The LEI database, which is managed by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), is completely transparent and accessible to everyone - regulators, businesses and other entities - regardless if they possess an LEI code themselves. This guarantees transparency between the parties involved in any financial transaction. As the LEI codes are renewed each year, the database can be relied upon to display only up to date information. Continue reading...

ISIN to LEI mapping

Within the world of hundreds of thousands companies, there are two primary identifiers used in finance. The first one being The International Securities Identification Number, otherwise known as ISIN, second The Legal Entity Identifier known as an LEI. These identifiers have a lot in common, they're both used to increase transparency and made up of alphanumeric digits with check numbers. Continue reading...

MiFID regulation | MiFID II LEI

MiFID is the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. Applicable across the European Union since November 2007. Being a cornerstone of the European Union's regulation of financial markets looking to improve their competitiveness by generating a single market for investment services and activities, and to guarantee a high degree of systematised protection for investors in financial instruments. Continue reading...

GLEIF | Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation

GLEIF is uniquely positioned in the entity identification market, agnostic to any particular political and/or commercial interests. The foundations' overhaul is to ensure the operational integrity of the Global LEI System. GLEIF is the one behind continuous improvement of the information available within, and the quality of, the LEI data pool. Continue reading...

Open LEI

Before the widespread adoption of the open LEI system, there were many inefficient, predominantly proprietary identifiers that, more often than not, provided false or outdated information. These shortcomings were a severe problem, particularly in financial markets, where the regulators, banks or other market participants were unable to access valid information about their counterparties. Continue reading...

Legal Entity Identifiers in KYC

KYC is a process of understanding who you do business with and assessing their suitability or risk to your organisation. Banks, insurers, creditors and more are increasingly demanding (thanks to the global drive in KYC regulation) that customers provide due diligence information to ensure they are who they say they are. Continue reading...

Legal Entity Identifiers in digital certificates

Digital certificates are hugely important in encrypting the internet. Whether it’s for encrypting a website and adding the ‘S’ to HTTPS or it’s encrypting and signing a digital document like a PDF, digital certificates are everywhere. Up until now, they have solved some great security challenges on the internet by encrypting networks and communication channels. However, as we know, encryption is not always enough. Continue reading...

Cybersecurity in a nutshell

Modern businesses run on data. Unfortunately, our data and networks are more vulnerable than ever. We cannot help but hear the daily news of cyber attacks and the massive problems they create. Even a minor breach creates a significant financial hit for an organization, not to mention the downtime and reputational damage. A major breach can spell disaster. Continue reading...