Apply for LEI

GLEIS is a federal, international system of LEI issuing authorities that is managed by a central unit - the Global LEI Foundation (GLEIF) - in the form of a foundation and monitored by a superordinate regulator.

The supervision of the system is undertaken by the LEI Regulatory Oversight Committee (LEI-ROC), in which the envoys of the national finance market Financial Markets Authority (FMA) are represented.

The GLEIF is an instrument of the GLEIS and was initially established in the form of a foundation. It oversees the procedural interrelationship between the Local Operating Units (LOUs) - i.e. LEI issuing authorities - and itself or the LEI-ROC.

The LOUs are the national LEI issuing authorities. They securely identify and authenticate entities that request and wish to use LEIs.

The global financial crisis of 2008 revealed that financial markets had insufficient transparency and safeguards. The G20 countries thus proposed the introduction of a global identification system that was realised in the form of the LEI system by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the members of which are representatives of the corresponding financial conduct authorities.

The FSB established the Global LEI Foundation (GLEIF). This accredited LEIReg as an official LEI issuing agency in 2017 and is, together with the LEI Regulatory Oversight Committee (LEIROC), responsible for the supranational monitoring of the various LEI issuing agencies.

Per MiFID II, each independent legal entity requiring unrestricted access to financial markets has been legally obligated, since January 2018, to identify itself in the form of an LEI. Only once they have been issued with an LEI are they permitted to deal in securities and derivatives. This definitive entity identification system is designed to prevent malpractice, such as money laundering and market abuse, in connection with international financial transactions.

For more information, click here to view a short tutorial on the subject of the LEI system.

In Germany, Bundesanzeiger Verlag GmbH has been operating its own issuing office, the so-called LEIReg, since January 2014 and issues and manages LEIs worldwide. GLEIF already accredited LEIReg as an official LEI issuing office in 2017. LEIReg sees itself not only as an issuing body, but also as a competent partner and LEI expert and is in active contact with its customers. It focuses on simplifying the processes around LEI application, administration and renewal and on making them resource-saving for both the non-financial and the financial counterparty. In this regard, LEIReg successfully cooperates with both national and international financial institutions and offers customized solutions for companies in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and other countries.

An LEI code is a 20-character alphanumeric combination (in accordance with ISO standard 17442).

Code: XXXX XX XXXXXXXXXXXX XX

At present, all organisations that deal in securities and derivatives require an LEI in order to comply with the stipulations of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation/Directive (MiFIR, MiFID II).
Per Art. 9 of the EU rules on OTC derivatives contracts, central counterparties and trade repositories (EMIR), an LEI has been required since 1 November 2017 for the purpose of identification when reporting.
Since 3 January 2018, it has also been necessary per Art. 26 of the MiFIR and MiFID II for those involved in notifiable transactions to hold an active LEI for identification purposes.

There is a mandatory requirement for an LEI by transaction registers. With the regulation of international financial markets in view, it seems likely that many other authorities and institutions throughout the world will in future require identification by means of an LEI.

The following when acting as counterparties in financial transactions are at present required to apply for an LEI:

• Banks and credit institutions
• Insurance companies
• Securities services companies
• Investment funds/capital management companies

Under the SFTR (Securities Financing Transactions Regulation) non-financial counterparties ‒ in other words, all businesses that are active in the real economy ‒ may also, since 13 July 2021, require an LEI.
Private persons and legally dependent business units do not need an LEI. Special rules may apply to natural persons who undertake business transactions.

For more information on when natural persons may require an LEI, see “LEIs for natural persons undertaking business transactions”.

LEI numbers contain information about the legal entity and are linked to important reference data. This information can be divided into two levels:

Level 1 data: Who is who?

• Name and address of the legal entity
• Country of incorporation, country code, subdivision
• Date of LEI issuance, date of incorporation of the entity, date of the last data update of the LEI and the validity period of the LEI number.

Level 2 data: Who belongs to whom?

• "Direct accounting parent" of the legal entity.
• "Ultimate accounting parent company" of the legal entity.
• The aim of this data is to identify the relationships in a corporate structure.
• Submission of the most recent consolidated financial statements of the immediate parent company or consolidated financial statements of the ultimate parent company is necessary to substantiate a parent-subsidiary relationship.

Publically available data includes a complete data record consisting of all data records managed by the Bundesanzeiger Verlag GmbH in an XML format. The format includes all fields specified by the ISO standard 17442.

Yes, the information will be published and made available as an XML dataset provided the affiliated parent company has an LEI. If the parent company does not have an LEI, reference data will not be published.

In the absence of a relationship with a parent company or if there is an opt-out with regard to the requirement to report on a parent company, this information will also be published.

Yes, an LEI can be issued for a branch office situated in a different country. However, only one LEI can be issued for all branch offices located in a specific country. This means it is advisable to decide for which branch office in that country the LEI application should be submitted.

Only the company headquarters can submit an LEI application for a branch office.

The following documents are required in order to validate the branch office:

A current commercial register excerpt originating from the country in which the branch office is situated.

Another document confirming the relationship between the main office and the branch office. This could be, for example, an annual financial statement of one of the two offices.

If the legally independent investment asset pool is not registered with a register court, then the asset pool’s responsible administrating company, e.g the asset management company, must be specified during the application procedure. If necessary, it is of course possible to submit an application for an LEI for the administering company.

If the investment asset pool is registered with a register court, e.g. a closed fund, it will be necessary to submit an application for an LEI for the corresponding company/institution.

For more information regarding the required documents for the LEI application for investment asset pools please see: What documentation will I need to make available for my LEI application?