The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) CICI Utility, the interim global legal entity identifier (LEI) solution developed in collaboration with SWIFT, has been endorsed by the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC) as a pre-Local Operating Unit (LOU).
This action marks an important milestone in establishing full operational deployment of a Global Legal Entity Identifier System (GLEIS) aimed at giving regulators and firms stronger systemic risk monitoring capabilities so they can analyse positions and transactions they oversee on a global basis.
In addition to the CICI Utility, the ROC endorsed two other pre-LOUs, WM Datenservice in Germany and INSEE in France.
“The ROC’s endorsement underscores the importance of industry-wide collaboration to develop the necessary principles and requirements for establishing an efficient operating framework for a GLEIS,” says William Hodash (pictured), DTCC managing director and chairman of the CICI Utility. “The progress that’s been made in establishing a standard unique global identifier and requiring it on mandatory reporting for all counterparties to derivatives transactions paves the way for other asset classes to be brought under the fold, giving global regulators and market participants alike greater insight on potential risk exposures.”
Established by Charter in January 2013, the ROC is comprised solely of global regulators and provides governance and oversight for the GLEIS. The ROC has responsibility for the development of the GLEIS according to principles and recommendations issued by the Financial Stability Board (FSB). It is a committee established after recommendations by the FSB and subsequent endorsement by the Group of 20 (G-20) nations.
As an authorised pre-LOU, the CICI Utility will issue pre-LEIs to entities that self-register and maintain the reference data. It will make its pre-LEI database available without charges or restrictions of any kind, operating on a cost-recovery basis. The CICI Utility supports the ROC’s federated framework for pre-LOUs and will continue to work with its Committee on Evaluation and Standards on procedures for the GLEIS, including orderly transfers of data between pre-LOUs.
“The value of the CICI Utility goes well beyond the ability to ensure compliance with regulations,” says Ron Jordan, DTCC managing director and chief data officer. “To improve risk management practices, market participants need to make sure the information they hold about themselves and their counterparties or clients is accurate and well-maintained over time. The evolving GLEIS, and the role of the CICI Utility, adds significant value to this, serving as a vital first step in improving transparency, efficiency and risk mitigation in the global marketplace.”
Now that the CICI Utility has achieved global acceptance, these CICIs are pre-LEIs available for reporting to any regulator that has assented to the ROC charter and that provides for pre-LEIs in their own transaction reporting rules. This will include trade repositories registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore starting later in October, as well as trade repositories registered with the European Securities and Markets Authority, the Australian Securities & Investment Commission and various Canadian provincial regulators in 2014. Hong Kong’s trade repository will feature pre-LEIs in OTC derivatives trade reporting as well.
