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Release date: 11 October 2013
Contact: Liz Pierce, +1 (212) 313-1173, lpierce@sifma.org
GFMA Statement on the Endorsement of Pre-LEI Utilities
London, 11 October 2013 – GFMA released the following statement after the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC) of the Global Legal Entity Identifier System (GLEIS) endorsed three utilities as pre- Local Operating Units (pre-LOUs) with the authorization to issue pre-legal entity identifiers (pre-LEIs). The three pre-LOUs include the CICI Utility, as well as WM Datenservice and INSEE (issuing only to French entities). These pre-LOUs will issue pre-LEIs that will serve as common legal entity identifiers and will transition to the global system when it is completed.
“The establishment of a global legal entity identifier system will dramatically improve systemic risk management in the financial industry. GFMA strongly supports the ROC’s endorsement of these utilities to issue “mutually acceptable” pre-LEIs. The use of these pre-LEIs is a critical step forward for the GLEIS as it will enable the industry and regulators to start realizing the benefits of common identifiers now while work on the global system is completed.
“Currently, there is no global standard for identifying parties to a financial transaction. Without a standard way to identify entities engaged in financial transactions, it is more challenging to measure the total exposure of one organization to another. The LEI initiative will dramatically improve systemic risk management by providing regulators and firms with more complete and accurate data on exposures in the financial system.”
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The Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) brings together three of the world’s leading financial trade associations to address the increasingly important global regulatory agenda and to promote coordinated advocacy efforts. The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) in London and Brussels, the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) in Hong Kong and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) in New York and Washington are, respectively, the European, Asian and North American members of GFMA. For more information, visit http://www.gfma.org.
