4.2.4.1 Background

123. EMIR has been the first Regulation to require the use of the ISO 17442 LEI standard to identify the parties of a transaction. The Legal entity identifier (LEI) is a 20-character reference code to uniquely identify legal entities on a global basis.

124. Article 3 of the current ITS on reporting states that:

“A report shall use a legal entity identifier to identify:

(a) a beneficiary which is a legal entity;

(b) a broking entity;

(c) a CCP;

(d) a clearing member;

(e) a counterparty which is a legal entity;

(f) a submitting entity.”

125. Since the current ITS on reporting entered into force, the LEI has officially become the unique identifier for counterparties that conclude derivatives contracts and that are legal entities.

126. Nevertheless, the current ITS does not contain precise indications about the validity (i.e. updating) of the LEI code. ESMA Q&A on EMIR and ESMA EMIR validation rules provide further clarity in that respect.