LEI for Trusts
Foundations require a Legal Entity Identifier
At present, many banks expect foundations to name their LEI (Legal Entity Identifier).
The legal requirements for this are derived from the revised European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID II) and the accompanying European Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFiR). As of 3 January 2018, institutional investors – including non-profit foundations – must therefore indicate a valid LEI if they invest in government bonds, corporate bonds or ETFs, for example. The financial institutes involved in a transaction must report to regulstors the LEIs of the participants involved in a transaction. The obligation to identify legal entities has been extended with the revision of the directive beyond derivatives trading.
After the key date, banks can only execute such transactions if the participants can be identified on the basis of active LEIs.