Introduction of Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) for issuers who have listed and/ or propose to list non-convertible securities, securitised debt instruments and security receipts
- LEI is a unique global identifier for legal entities participating in financial transactions. LEI is designed to create a global reference data system that uniquely identifies every legal entity, in any jurisdiction, that is party to a financial transaction. It is a unique 20-character code to identify legally distinct entities that engage in financial transactions. Presently, RBI directions, inter alia, mandate non-individual borrowers having aggregate exposure of above Rs. 25 crores, to obtain LEI code.
- In view of the above, issuers having outstanding listed non-convertible securities as on August 31, 2023, shall report/ obtain and report the LEI code in the Centralized Database of corporate bonds, on or before September 1, 2023. Similarly, issuers having outstanding listed securitised debt instruments and security receipts as on August 31, 2023, shall report/ obtain and report the LEI code to the Depository(ies), on or before September 1, 2023.
- Further, issuers proposing to issue and list non-convertible securities, on or after September 01, 2023, shall report their LEI code in the Centralized Database of corporate bonds at the time of allotment of the ISIN. Similarly, issuers proposing to issue and list securitised debt instruments and security receipts, on or after September 01, 2023, shall report their LEI code to the Depositories at the time of allotment of the ISIN. The requirements are tabulated below:
- The requirement of LEI for issuers proposing to list/ having outstanding municipal debt securities shall be specified later.
- Entities can obtain the LEI code from any of the Local Operating Units (LOUs) accredited by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF). In India, the LEI code may be obtained from Legal Entity Identifier India Ltd (LEIIL), a subsidiary of the Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL), which has been recognised by the Reserve Bank of India as issuer of LEI under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 and is accredited by the GLEIF as the LOUin India for issuance and management of LEI codes.
- The Depositories shall:
a.map the LEI code to existing ISINs by September 30, 2023; and
b.for future issuances, map the LEI code provided by the issuers with the ISIN at the time of activation of the ISIN. - This circular shall come into force with immediate effect.
- This Circular is issued in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 read with Regulation 55 (1) of the SEBI (Issue andListing of Non-Convertible Securities) Regulations, 2021, Regulation 29 of the SEBI (Issue and Listing of Municipal Debt Securities), Regulations, 2015 and Regulations 48 of the SEBI (Issue and Listing of Securitised Debt Instruments and Security Receipts) Regulations, 2008, to protect the interest of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market.
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