Sponsored by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) the US Treasury's Office of Financial Reporting, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and others.

http://www.dtcc.com/products/dataservices/lei.php

All parties to a financial contract.

Public

A Legal Entity Identifier or LEI is a reference code to uniquely identify a legally distinct entity that engages in a financial transaction. Currently, there are many ways to identify entities, but there is no unified global identification system for legal entities across markets and jurisdictions.

The LEI is designed to be a linch pin for financial data - the first global and unique entity identifier enabling risk managers and regulators to identify parties to financial transactions instantly and precisely.

A global solution to provide Legal Entity Identifiers for all parties to financial contracts was proposed by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and SWIFT, and consequently recommended by the umbrella Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) trade association. In this solution, SWIFT would act as the registration authority, acting on behalf of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to assign the ISO 17442 LEI standard. DTCC would act as the facilities manager which will receive, review and publish entity information. In the United States, Dodd-Frank mandated initiatives to create standard LEIs. The main effort is being driven by the Office of Financial Research (OFR), with the Commodity Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) also issuing LEI standards around derivatives.
LEI Primer
Summary of ISO LEI Standard
Legal Entity Identifier Resource Center (SIFMA)
LEI Timeline of Major Events
LEI Readiness:Instant Integration with Alacra Concordance

See also: Alacra's Periodic Table of Banking Regulation & Compliance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_Entity_Identification_for_Financial_Contracts