Banks use Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) when reporting their clients’ securities and derivatives transactions to financial supervisory authorities. This reporting is required under major EU financial regulations such as the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive/Regulation (MiFID II/MiFIR).
Because these regulations require banks to clearly identify the legal entities involved in reportable transactions, many NordLEI customers are asked by their bank to obtain an LEI. Without a valid LEI, the bank may not be able to meet its reporting obligations under EMIR or MiFID II/MiFIR.
For more information on regulation please visit GLEIF's article on regulations mandating the LEI usage.