This is a critical step in the building of the Global LEI System, a system to uniquely identify parties to financial transactions, in the public interest, and without any licensing, intellectual property or similar restrictions.

Over the past 6 months, the nominated Board members have worked closely with the FSB (the founder of the Foundation), and the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC), comprised of financial regulators from across the globe, to prepare for the founding of the GLEIF.

There are already almost 300,000 LEIs in issuance, and the LEI has been mandated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the European Securities and Markets Authority, and the European Banking Authority, and is being considered for use by multiple other financial regulators around the world.

The purpose of the GLEIF is to serve the broad public interest as the operational arm of the GLEIS, supporting on a not-­‐for-­‐profit basis the implementation and use of a global Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) and associated data on legally distinct entities that engage in financial transactions.

The GLEIF will contribute to and facilitate many financial stability objectives, including: improved risk management, better assessment of micro and macroprudential risks, facilitation of orderly resolution, transparency into market abuse, curbing financial fraud, and higher overall quality and accuracy of financial data.

"The global LEI system is building momentum. After two years of work and strong cooperation among industry and governments, the formal establishment of the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation is a major achievement," said Matthew Reed, Chief Counsel of the Office of Financial Research and Chair of the Regulatory Oversight Committee for the Global LEI system. "The foundation will be the heart of the LEI system, building its technology infrastructure and ensuring adherence to governing principles and standards, including reliability, quality, and uniqueness."

The Chair of the GLEIF Board, Gerard Hartsink, said, "We have an important job ahead of us to build up the operations of the GLEIS and ensure that it conforms with the recommendations endorsed by the G20. We will coordinate with Local Operating Units (LOUs) endorsed by the ROC to ensure that we establish a strong partnership between the GLEIF and the LOUs."