LEI-mapping capability enhanced as LEI data links to corresponding records in OpenCorporates database
LEI-mapping capability enhanced as LEI data links to corresponding records in OpenCorporates database
18 April 2023 – Basel – The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has announced that LEIs have been linked with corresponding records in OpenCorporates’ global database of legal-entity data, thanks to an expansion of a long-standing partnership between the two organizations. OpenCorporates is the largest open database of companies in the world.
Both organizations are uniquely focused on ensuring that open and reliable entity reference data is publicly available to promote transparency and increase trust in the business environment and simplify and reduce the cost of customer and third-party management. Open, public, high quality, and electronically accessible company data is critical to address the hidden risks in financial markets and global supply chains, as well as tackling money laundering and the criminal use of companies, particularly as business operations become more automated.
Data users, including financial institutions, government agencies, and companies, will benefit significantly from these complementary datasets being linked. With LEIs now natively available in the OpenCorporates database, cross-referencing between these two datasets will facilitate a wide range of compliance, surveillance, and due-diligence monitoring processes.
The collaboration delivers the following benefits to global data consumers:
“This latest collaboration with OpenCorporates will bring greater transparency and identity management efficiencies for millions of data consumers globally,” comments Stephan Wolf, CEO at GLEIF. “The LEI is the linchpin that connects the dots across a universe of entity identification. To play this role, interoperability with parallel identity platforms is crucial. Connecting with the OpenCorporates database helps ensure that the highest quality reference data is quickly and easily available to all.”
Chris Taggart, CEO at OpenCorporates said: “GLEIF and OpenCorporates share a common purpose: to create a fairer, more prosperous, and sustainable society by improving corporate transparency with trusted legal entity information. Following many years of successful collaboration, we are proud to broaden the scope of our relationship with GLEIF. With more detailed information available to anyone who requires it, global organizations will be better equipped to tackle corruption and criminality and create a more trusted business environment.”
GLEIF will publish open-source relationship files bi-weekly, in a CSV format, which will map LEIs to their corresponding records in OpenCorporates’ database. Mapped data will also be incorporated into the LEI Search and GLEIF API at a later stage. More than 50 percent of the global LEI population is now linked to the OpenCorporates database (given not all legal entities with LEIs are officially registered – e.g., funds).
In addition to providing OpenCorporates to LEI mapping, GLEIF has also certified mapping relationships between S&P Global’s Company ID, SWIFT’s Market Identifier Code (MIC) and Business Identifier Code (BIC), and the Association of National Numbering Agencies’ (ANNA) International Securities Identification Numbers (ISIN).
Founded in 2010, OpenCorporates has been instrumental in opening access to corporate registries across Europe and North America and making trusted primary-source legal-entity data openly available as a single standardized dataset which now covers 220 million companies across 145 jurisdictions worldwide.
OpenCorporates has a long history with GLEIF; Chris Taggart, OpenCorporates’ founder, was on the inaugural GLEIF Board of Directors. In 2019, the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on legal entity data, and since then OpenCorporates’ data has been used to support the GLEIF data quality program, including the automation of data quality checks and referrals of challenges to LEI issuing operations.
GLEIF encourages further engagement with its Certification of LEI Mapping service, which is available to interested data vendors and other organizations free of charge. GLEIF is already working with its Vendor Relationship Stakeholder Group to advance its mapping program objectives.
A Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) is a unique identification code assigned to legal entities participating in financial transactions, enhancing transparency and reducing risks in the financial markets.
OpenCorporates is the largest open database of companies globally, providing access to legal entity data to promote transparency and trust in the business environment.
Compliance in finance involves adhering to laws, regulations, and guidelines set by governing bodies to ensure that financial institutions operate within legal frameworks.
Transparency in financial markets refers to the openness and clarity of information regarding financial transactions, allowing stakeholders to make informed decisions.
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