How to obtain lei in Germany?

Introduction

What is GLEIS?

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 financial 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.

What is a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)?

A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a globally unique identification code for independent legal entities in the financial market, used to uniquely identify every contractual partner and every financial transaction worldwide.LEI codes are issued by Local Operating Units (LOU). If an LEI has been issued by an LOU which is accredited by GLEIF, this LEI shall be valid for all transaction notifications.

Each LEI code contains reference data that is divided into two sections: Level 1 – who is who, and Level 2 – who owns whom. All LEI codes are published to the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation’s (GLEIF) database and the data is publicly available and accessible to everyone, regardless of possessing an LEI code themselves.

The purpose of introducing the Global LEI System (GLEIS) is to standardize the identification of legal entities across the globe. Currently, many different systems and methods for identification exist in various countries and markets. The ultimate goal of GLEIS is to ensure that there is only one standard system

How do I obtain an LEI in Germany?

An LEI can be obtained from a Local Operating Unit (LOU) or an LEI Registration agent. Legal entities have to register their LEI through a service provider (either through an LOU, a Registration Agent, or any other LEI service provider) by filling out a registration form. On successful completion of the registration procedure, you will be able to submit LEI applications.

Select „Apply for new LEI“ on the start page of the LEIReg website or under „LEI services“ to apply for an LEI for a company/institution, an investment fund, or a branch office.

On receipt of an LEI application, the information you have entered will be cross-checked against documentation that may need to be submitted. You can monitor the current status of the processing of your application at any time under „My data“ in the section „Application management“.

On successful completion of the review, the lei number will be issued; you will be able to view it and manage it as necessary under „My data“ in the section „LEIs/Data management“.

Who needs an LEI?

At present, all companies that participate in derivatives trading need an LEI to meet the requirements of EMIR (European Market Infrastructure Regulation) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR, MiFID II).

Transaction registers presuppose the LEI as a mandatory requirement, but regarding the regulation of the financial markets, it is expected that the use of an LEI will still be presupposed by many other authorities and institutions worldwide.

First addressees are the financial counterparties:

• Banks/credit institutions
• Insurance companies
• Security services companies
• Investment funds/asset management companies

In the context of SFTR (Securities Financing Transactions Regulation), the system will be subsequently extended to any organizations whose activities are not primarily financial (i.e. all other businesses active in the real economy).

Private persons and legally dependent parts of companies will not need an LEI. Special regulations may apply to natural persons who are involved in business activities.