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Q2 2021 in review: The LEI in Numbers

Data from the latest Global LEI System Business Reports illustrates LEI adoption from May to July 2021


Author: Stephan Wolf

  • Date: 2021-07-20
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The Global LEI Foundation (GLEIF) is proud of its ongoing transparency initiatives. Namely its open approach to providing unrestricted access to the latest LEI data from around the world with the Quarterly LEI System Business Reports, which are made publicly available free of charge. Through this ‘LEI in Numbers’ blog series, GLEIF aims to highlight key data from the latest report, explaining trends and profiling successes from the global LEI rollout.

The latest report, covering Q2 2021, shows that 58,000 new LEIs were issued globally during that period. Issuance was slightly lower than the previous quarter (68,000 issued in Q1), however this trend is quite common during the second quarter of the year, as the world moves into the slower summer months. The overall picture is very encouraging; in Q2 2021, total LEI issuance grew by 3.3% and the total number of active LEIs now stands as 1.82 million.

For a further summary of the past quarter’s data, the below infographic contains the key statistics from Q2 2021.

For the first time, Turkey emerges as the largest growth market in Q2, with an impressive growth rate of 22.9%. This is one of the highest growth rates seen this year. This was driven largely by a regional deadline to map LEIs to legacy international securities identification numbers, in line with the joint initiative from the Association of National Numbering Agencies and GLEIF. In addition, Iceland has doubled its quarterly growth rate when compared to the previous quarter (19% in Q2, up from 9.2% in Q1).

While remaining high overall, there was a nominal decline in renewal rates across both EU and non-EU jurisdictions throughout the past quarter (64.3% down from 66%). In line with fluctuations in issuance and growth, it is normal for renewal rates to vary from quarter to quarter. GLEIF advocates for LEI renewals to be made mandatory whenever LEI issuance is mandatory. The prevention of lapsed credentials by proactive renewal of LEIs on an annual basis ensures that the Global LEI Index continues to provide the most accurate and up-to-date data as possible. This benefits the entire ecosystem and all users of LEI data, who rely on its accuracy to make informed business decisions with confidence.

For the full report which includes further detail on the status of LEI issuance and growth potential, the level of competition between LEI issuing organizations in the Global LEI System and Level 1 and 2 reference data, please visit the Global LEI System Business Reports page.

If you are interested in reviewing the latest daily LEI data, our Global LEI System Statistics Dashboard contains daily statistics on the total and active number of LEIs issued. This feature now enables any user to review historical data by geography, increasing transparency on the overall progress of the LEI.

For further detail, or to access historical data, please visit the Global LEI System Business Report Archive. We look forward to sharing our progress each quarter as we continue to drive LEI adoption in 2021.

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About the author:

Stephan Wolf was the CEO of the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) (2014 - 2024). Since March 2024, he has led the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s Industry Advisory Board (IAB) of the Digital Standards Initiative, the global platform for digital trade standards alignment, adoption, and engagement. Before he was appointed as Chair, he had been serving as Vice-Chair of the IAB since 2023. In the same year, he was elected to the Board of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Germany.

Between January 2017 and June 2020, Mr. Wolf was Co-convener of the International Organization for Standardization Technical Committee 68 FinTech Technical Advisory Group (ISO TC 68 FinTech TAG). In January 2017, Mr. Wolf was named one of the Top 100 Leaders in Identity by One World Identity. He has extensive experience in establishing data operations and global implementation strategies. He has led the advancement of key business and product development strategies throughout his career. Mr. Wolf co-founded IS Innovative Software GmbH in 1989 and served first as its managing director. He was later named spokesman of the executive board of its successor, IS.Teledata AG. This company ultimately became part of Interactive Data Corporation, where Mr. Wolf held the role of CTO. Mr. Wolf holds a university degree in business administration from J. W. Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main.


Tags for this article:
Global LEI System Business Reports, Global LEI Index, Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), LEI Issuers (Local Operating Units - LOUs), LEI Renewal, Open Data, Data Management, Level 1 / Business Card Data (Who is Who), Level 2 / Relationship Data (Who Owns Whom)