Strate’s new offering to the market – Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) services
During the financial crisis and collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, it became evident that regulators and private sector managers were unable to readily identify the full extent of the market participants’ exposure to Lehman and the interconnectedness of financial institutions.
This gave rise to the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC), which was founded by the G20’s Financial Stability Board, establishing what is called the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) system.
The system is governed by global regulators who recognise the importance of the LEI as a key component of the financial markets which aims to reduce systemic risk and increase transparency.
An LEI is a unique numbering system (code) which allows for the identification of legally independent entities across the global financial markets.
Unique identification of parties to financial transactions underpins multiple financial stability objectives such as:
- Improved risk management in firms
- Better assessment of micro and macro prudential risks
- Facilitation of orderly resolution
It also provides many benefits to the private sector such as:
- Lowering operational risks
- Facilitating straight through processing
Global regulatory reporting is likely to become stricter and companies are encouraged and will benefit by obtaining an LEI code. Any legal entity that enters into a financial transaction is eligible to register for an LEI. However, single individuals (natural persons) are not eligible.
Companies are now able to make use of Strate as a local provider of LEI services.
In order to be endorsed as an issuer of LEIs, Strate was required to meet a set of stringent qualifying criteria set by the Regulatory Oversight Committee. Strate’s LEI services include the ability to register, view, search, update, renew, challenge and port LEI codes for companies.
For detailed information visit: www.lei-strate.co.za or contact Strate-LEIHelpdesk@strate.co.za
