APIR ramps up LEI issuance, hits 10k milestone

APIR Systems has achieved a key milestone in ensuring wealth management and fellow financial services businesses meet a legally required transaction reporting obligation set by the G20.

APIR, an Australian firm specialising in the provision of financial product and legal entity identifiers, reports that it has surpassed the administration of more than 10,000 Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) on behalf of its clients.

APIR Group chief executive Chris Donohoe said the issuance of LEI codes has grown at an exponential pace over the last 18 months following the introduction of new transaction reporting rules by financial services regulator ASIC last October.

APIR has been issuing these codes since the LEI’s framework launch in 2015.

“The LEI’s adoption in over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions better aligns Australia’s regulatory system with regulation frameworks in the EU, US and UK,” Donohoe said.

“The move brings Australia in line with other jurisdictions and is another step towards a long-held goal of global regulatory harmonisation.”

The LEI, a 20-number reference code, is used across markets to identify legally distinct entities party to a financial transaction. LEIs not only capture key corporate information about a legal entity, but also details any direct and ultimate parent entities, APIR notes.

“It essentially unveils ‘who is who’ and ‘who owns what’ and so is a crucial identifier that helps regulators better oversee financial markets and monitor financial stability.”

The reference code was introduced by the G20’s Financial Stability Board to improve financial transparency following the global financial crisis.

Donohoe as well noted the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation’s (GLEIF) – the global authority overseeing LEI issuing organisations – stated objective to increase LEI adoption outside of mandated use-cases within financial markets.

“The role of LEIs is expected to expand even further into areas such as cross-border payments, Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer processes, and digital identity verification,” Donohoe said.