Business updates

GS1 is pleased to announce that it is now a GLEIF (Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation) accredited Local Operating Unit (LOU) and able to issue Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) across the globe.

GS1’s LEI services can assist organisations with the obtaining, transferring and ongoing renewal of LEIs through its online portal: https://www.lei.direct. GS1 Member Organisations, acting as Registration Agents on behalf of the GS1 LOU, are able to provide local support and ensure clients’ LEI needs are satisfied.

What is an LEI?
An LEI is a unique, 20-digit alpha-numeric code based on the ISO 17442 standard, which enables the identification of legal entities participating in financial transactions.

Following ESMA’s (European Securities and Markets Authority) extension of the implementation deadline, effective 3 July 2018, the purchase or sale of shares, bonds, warrants, government bonds and derivatives, requires an LEI, due to the new European Union (EU) revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR). The MiFID II/MiFIR implementing legislative acts require a significant number of financial market participants to obtain an LEI that were under no such obligation to previously.

Concerning transaction reporting under MiFIR, the ESMA has clarified that investment firms should obtain LEIs from their clients before providing services. This would trigger reporting obligations in respect of transactions carried out on behalf of those clients.

Under this regulation, institutions around the world that want to continue doing business with counterparties in Europe will need to obtain an LEI in order to comply with MiFID II and other regulatory mandates in Europe.  

The regulation for LEIs extends beyond Europe.

At least 45 jurisdictions have rules referring to the LEI: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, 31 members of the European Union and European Economic Area, Hong Kong, India, Israel Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States.  To learn more about LEI regulations in your country, click here.

GS1’s LEI service
With more than 40 years of experience in the identification of unique products and entities, GS1 and its global network of Member Organisations operating in 112 countries, are uniquely qualified to offer complete LEI services, with expertise in data validation and knowledge of local language, laws and regulations.

GS1 is currently accredited in over 70 jurisdictions around the world, and has validated and issued over 20,000 LEIs, establishing itself as one of the top 10 LEI issuers in terms of volume. GS1 also provides a free public database of all LEI data that it manages, allowing users access to a valuable set of information when researching entity identification, risk, and exposure.

GS1’s LEI services enable companies to meet financial regulatory requirements and make smarter, less costly and more reliable decisions about who to do business with.

For more information, please visit GS1 Mauritius website.