New Year - New LEI Vendor

The month of January seems like a good time for a mental clean-up. How do you get your business off to a good start in the new year?

At Global FinReg, we start by taking a closer look at our vendor relationships. This includes our accountant, lawyer, insurance company, and bank. Do we feel like we’re in good hands with them? Do they save us time and allow us to focus on our business without having to worry about things we have neither the time nor the expertise to deal with?

If the answer to these two questions is no, we find ourselves a new vendor.

Do you have the right LEI vendor?

A LEI code is a minor expense for most companies. However, considering that it’s a compliance must-have and a mainstay - i.e., a relationship you’re likely to have for years - it makes sense to ensure that you have the right LEI vendor in place.

We have listed a few essential LEI vendor criteria below. If your current vendor doesn’t fulfill these, you should transfer your LEI code.

Criteria number 1: save time and trouble

Like any other vendor, your LEI code vendor should save you time and trouble, so you know that your LEI code is always valid and up-to-date.

All businesses - big or small - will benefit from automatic renewals and continuous updating of their company information. Ultimately, this saves time and prevents disruptions to their business. Your LEI code is considered invalid if it has expired or contains incorrect information, and if this happens, you won’t be able to conduct financial transactions.

Banks and investment firms also welcome features such as watchlists and notification systems, because they 1) provide a clear overview of all their customers at once, and 2) enable them to provide good service to their customers, e.g., by informing them of upcoming expiration dates.

Criteria number 2: get help, when you need it

If you have questions of any kind, you should be able to pick up the phone and talk with someone.

This may sound basic, but we have learned that the majority of LEI vendors don’t have customer service readily available. Some of the large vendors defer their customers to a call center where they wait for a long time to speak with someone who may not have the product knowledge to help them. Others just leave customer calls and emails unanswered.

At Global FinReg, we had a busy holiday season. People were off work and tended to administrative things, such as the renewal of their LEI codes. For 98% of our customers, this was done in a matter of seconds by clicking the button in our reminder email to them. But for some, it left them with questions. So they called us, and we answered their questions and offered to manage the renewal process for them.

Criteria number 3: benefit from the insights

LEI codes became mandatory for the majority of companies in 2018. We still occasionally get questions from people about why they need an LEI code - or whether they can use the same LEI code for multiple companies.

We know that compliance can be tricky. Especially if you run a small business and don’t have the time to keep up with regulatory requirements. Perhaps your bank told you to get an LEI code without properly explaining why - or what an LEI code is?

For this reason, we keep up with industry news and post articles in our Insights section on our website. We consider the LEI space to be our area of expertise, and we want to share our insights with our customers and anyone interested.

If you want to know more about LEI codes, we recommend that you read these articles:

What is an LEI code?

This is why LEI codes are so important

Everything you need to know about LEI codes

The cheapest LEI code is not the best - and here’s why

You can also read our Frequently Asked Questions - or call us with any questions.