Moving to the Standard Legal Entity Identifier: Client Data Management

The movement toward a standardized Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) across Europe and North America is compelling financial institutions to rethink their client data management and onboarding processes.

Regulators and financial institutions around the world agree that a system of standardized Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) is necessary, but implementation poses a number of practical challenges. As Europe and North America move toward unique identifiers, financial services organizations are being compelled to rethink how they manage client data and refresh their onboarding practices.

Read this Accenture report to learn how your organization can turn LEI compliance into a competitive advantage.

Download the full report [PDF, 2.58 MB]

When large financial institutions refer to a “client,” they are rarely talking about one individual or a single business entity. The modern client relationship is multifaceted, often encompassing several business units across multiple geographies. Often, two departments within the same financial institution can deal with the same client and not even realize it.

To help organizations track and understand their customers, regulatory authorities in Europe and North America are adopting a system of standardized Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) that will introduce a unique identifier for each legal entity.

The movement toward a system of standardized Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) presents an opportunity for financial institutions to increase the quality and value of their client data by changing how that information is collected and used.

Clean and accurate data can help organizations:

• Strengthen risk assessment and risk management.
• Improve capital allocation and operational efficiency.
• Refine product pricing and credit decisions.
• Identify cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.
• Build client relationships.
  
  

Read the report to learn more about the potential benefits of unique identifiers.

The introduction of standardized Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) poses a significant operational challenge for financial institutions. To prepare, Accenture recommends that organizations begin:

• Identifying which areas of their businesses will benefit most from LEIs.
  
  
• Developing data-cleaning strategies.
  
  
• Establishing processes to facilitate the flow of information throughout their organizations.
  
  
• Integrating systems to support a seamless transition to unique identifiers.
  
  
• Upgrading their client data management capabilities.
  
  

Read the report to learn more about our services in each of these areas.