The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has announced the launch of its Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) Look-Up API which provides programmatic access to the organization’s complete LEI data pool in real time. With one request, the GLEIF LEI Look-Up API returns up to 200 LEI records included in the Global LEI Index. The API allows developers to incorporate LEI look-up functionality with applications and internal systems. The API also includes the ability to perform on-demand checks for changes to specific LEI records.
Headquartered in Switzerland, GLEIF was founded in 2014 with the purpose of supporting the adoption and use of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI). The organization provides a global online source of open, standardized legal entity reference data, including LEIs. The LEI is based on the ISO 17442 standard, and is a 20-digit, alpha-numeric code. The LEI helps identify legal entities that participate in financial transactions. LEIs are used by organizations in a number of industries including financial, regulatory, and fintech.
The GLEIF LEI Look-Up API provides Level 1, "who is who" data such as official name of the legal entity, registered address, and country of formation. This data is based on the LEI Common Data File format version 1.0. There is no charge to use the API, and developers do not need to register to use the API.
Organizations and developers interested in using the GLEIF LEI Look-Up can find more information on the official GLEIF website. There is also an LEI Lookup online demo that demonstrates some of the information returned by the API.