Resources > MiFID II LEI Code Renewal & MiFIR LEI Renewal

LEI Code MiFID II & MiFIR Compliance

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) require mandatory use of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) Codes in transaction reporting under the “No LEI No Trade” initiative.

As a European-owned, and GLEIF accredited Legal Operating Unit, RapidLEI can help you discover, register, and renew client LEIs to meet EU compliance and minimise risk.

From 3 January 2018 all legal entities and investment firms involved in buying, selling or issuing financial instruments on EU regulated markets will be required to obtain and maintain a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI).

It does not matter where the legal entity is incorporated, or geographically located, an LEI is required or there can be no legal trade. “No LEI No Trade”.

Has your LEI lapsed? Visit our Renewal FAQ to expedite MiFID II LEI renewal.

The Importance of LEI Code MiFID II & MiFIR

If you are a firm with financial transaction obligations under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2014/65/EU) (“MiFID II”) and the European Union Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (EU/600/2014) (“MiFIR”), the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) now mandates the use of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) in member states.

LEI Codes are required for the purpose of identifying counterparties to provide the transaction transparency needed to protect investors and avoid repeats of the 2008 financial crisis.

The use of the LEI also generates tangible benefits for businesses including simplified regulatory reporting; identity / KYC data management, more accurate calculation of counterparty exposures, improved risk management, and increased operational efficiencies (see new GLEIF Validation Agent service).

MiFIR vs MiFID – same or different?

MiFID II and MiFIR are interconnected and their close alignment means that they are often used interchangeably. The difference between MiFID and MiFIR is that MiFID outlines goals that EU member countries should make efforts to meet, whereas MiFIR is a set of legislative rules that EU member countries are obliged to meet.

MiFID goals include market infrastructure/transparency, transaction reporting, product governance, investor protection and rules on inducements. MiFIR imposes transaction reporting rules on financial service providers.

How to obtain and maintain a MiFID II LEI Number

Legal Entity Identifiers are endorsed by the G20 and managed under the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) ecosystem. LEI Numbers are 20 digit codes that uniquely identifies a Legal Entity, whenever the organization may be based globally.

Issued LEI Numbers are included in the Global LEI System (GLEIS) index – a global database of all issued LEIs, their current status and the reference data associated with the corresponding legal entity.

LEIs can only be issued by GLEIF accredited Legal Operating Units (LOU). Ubisecure, via our RapidLEI service, is an accredited LOU and we help organizations meet the MiFID II / MiFIR LEI requirements.

Is a MifID II Legal Entity Identifier different from a standard LEI?

A Legal Entity Identifier issued for MiFID II compliance follows the same process as Legal Entity Identifier Numbers issued for other regulation. It is important to note that investment firms regulated under MiFID II, must renew their MiFID II LEI code annually.

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Why do I need an LEI

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Who will be impacted by MiFID II & MiFIR LEI compliance requirements?

  • Investment firms that execute transactions in financial instruments
  • The clients (buyer, seller) on whose behalf the investment firm executes transactions, when the client is a legal entity
  • The client of the firm on whose behalf the trading venue is reporting under MiFIR Article 26.5, when the client is a legal entity
  • The person who makes the decision to acquire the financial instrument, when this person is a legal entity
  • Investment managers acting under a discretionary mandate on behalf of its underlying clients
  • The firm transmitting the order
  • The entity submitting a transaction report ie trading venue, ARM, investment firm
  • The issuer of any financial instrument listed and/or traded on a trading venue
  • Investment firms reporting under MiFIR Article 26 need to collect and verify the LEI of clients, before any transaction
  • A client who is a legal entity or structure, including a charity or trust, wanting an investment firm to act on its instructions
  • An operator of a trading venue reporting under MiFIR Article 27 need to collect and verify the LEI of the issuer of the financial instrument admitted to trading or traded on its venue
  • LEI of the issuer of the financial instruments is crucial for market surveillance; LEI code needed to determine which national supervisor is responsible for monitoring the market activity
  • Investor firms and operators of trading venues must ensure their own LEIs are kept up to date

Obtaining MiFID LEI Codes

With RapidLEI, investment firms can discover, verify, renew, and manage client LEI codes at scale. This can be done ad-hoc as needed, or more holistically by integrating LEI registration into customer onboarding services.

RapidLEI makes obtaining, registering and renewing Legal Entity Identifiers for MiFID II and MiFIR faster, simpler and more cost effective. Our automated systems register and renew MiFID II LEIs in minutes, and our Management Platform makes managing multiple LEIs effortless.

As a GLEIF accredited LOU, we offer the only LEI issuance API that supports the discovery, registration, management, and renewal of client LEIs. The API is available to both Registration Agents and Validation Agents.