The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a 20-character, alpha-numeric code based on the ISO 17442 standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It connects to key reference information that enables clear and unique identification of legal entities participating in financial transactions. Each LEI contains information about an entity’s ownership structure and thus answers the questions of ‘who is who’ and ‘who owns whom’. Simply put, the publicly available LEI data pool can be regarded as a global directory, which greatly enhances transparency in the global marketplace.

The data is registered and regularly verified according to protocols and procedures established by the Regulatory Oversight Committee.

The Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC) is a group of public authorities from around the globe established in January 2013 to coordinate and oversee a worldwide framework of legal entity identification, the Global LEI System. In its role as overseer of the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), the ROC ensures that GLEIF upholds the principles of the Global LEI System.