Legal entity identifier (LEI)
A legal entity identifier (LEI) is a unique 20-character alphanumeric code that identifies a legal entity participating in financial transactions and other official interactions. Under ISO 17442, each LEI is assigned to one entity only and links to verified reference data held in the Global LEI Index administered by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF).
Why bank EF, PF and CRE desks use the legal entity identifier
Credit and origination desks use the LEI to pin a counterparty, borrower, guarantor, or SPV to a single public identity across jurisdictions. In export finance, that matters when the same corporate group appears under local company numbers, trade names, and banking identifiers that do not reconcile cleanly. In project finance and commercial real estate, the LEI anchors the project company and related obligors in KYC and onboarding files alongside customer due diligence records.
Regulators and market infrastructure operators treat the LEI as a public-good identifier. GLEIF is a not-for-profit foundation backed by the G20 and the Financial Stability Board and overseen by the Regulatory Oversight Committee. The design goal is consistent entity identification for risk evaluation, market surveillance, and corrective action across borders.
How legal entity identifier data is structured
LEI reference data has two layers. Level 1 data answers "who is who": legal name, registered address, and related business-card fields drawn from authoritative local sources. Level 2 data answers "who owns whom": direct and ultimate parent relationships where available, including reporting exceptions when a parent has no LEI or the registrant reports that it has no parent.
Issuing organisations (Local Operating Units) report LEI records daily in Common Data File formats. GLEIF publishes concatenated files, golden-copy and delta files updated several times a day, a free web search tool, and an API. Users can access the full LEI data pool free of charge without registration. Mapping programmes also link LEIs to other identifiers such as BICs and ISINs so desks can reconcile entity keys across systems.
Distinctions that matter on the credit file
An LEI identifies a legal entity. It does not itself identify natural-person controllers. Ultimate ownership and control still require ultimate beneficial owner analysis under AML standards such as those framed by the FATF. The LEI supports that work by making corporate identity and parent linkages comparable across markets, but it is not a substitute for beneficial ownership verification or KYC and KYB procedures.
Nor is an LEI a credit rating, sanctions determination, or proof of good standing. It is an identity key. Desks still assess financial capacity, jurisdiction risk, and compliance status through separate credit and financial-crime processes.