The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has partnered with APIR Systems offer a legal entity identifier (LEI) solution to firms in Australia and South East Asia.
APIR Systems will be able to utilise the solution to comply with LEI requirements under the incoming second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), among other regulatory frameworks.
LEIs are required as a global standard providing improved transparency of financial transactions across jurisdictional borders.
According to exchange, the process of acquiring an LEI has recently become more complex, with level-two data requirements requesting mandatory information on an entity's parent-child hierarchy.
Industry estimates suggest more than 250,000 entities are still without the required LEIs, according to LSE.
APIR Systems, who will act as a registered agent in the region, will continue to assist clients with understanding their LEI requirements but will now send details to London Stock Exchange for validation and approval.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has stated that firms should not trade with counterparties that do not have an LEI as they will not be able to submit valid transaction reports.
Chris Donohoe, CEO of APIR Systems, said: “As Australia’s identification standard for a range of unlisted financial instruments since the late 1990s, it is a natural evolution for APIR Systems to join the global LEI initiative.”
“In 2015, APIR began issuing LEIs and it has now evolved that service by partnering with LSE to leverage their technical expertise and global scale. Although MiFID II is relatively new to Australian entities it does impact a broad range of financial services firms that transact with European counterparties, including funds, self managed super funds and traders.”
“The relationship with LSE offers benefits for both our existing clients and the new client segments that will soon be impacted by these changes.”
Pritha Sharma, manager of LEI and information services at LSEG, added: “This partnership between LSE and APIR systems demonstrates our ongoing commitment to help market participants comply with a wide range of regulation.”
“This partnership between LSE and APIR looks to promote the LEI and raise awareness of the use of the identifier particularly in the Australasian market.”
