#22 in the LEI Lightbulb Blog Series – The LEI in U.S. Law: What the FDTA Final Joint Rule Means
Peter Warms, Head of Business Development, North America, at GLEIF, explores why the establishment of the LEI as the standard for entity identification under the Financial Data Transparency Act marks a pivotal moment for financial data standardization in the U.S.
Author: Peter Warms
Date: 2026-06-17
Views:
Federal agencies in the U.S. have historically operated across more than 50 distinct, incompatible entity identification systems. The Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA), signed into law in 2022, sought to address this fragmentation by establishing a common language for financial data that regulators, institutions, and analysts can rely on.
In June 2026, nine U.S. financial agencies finalized the joint rule under the FDTA to promote the interoperability of financial regulatory data. This followed a public consultation in August 2024.
In a milestone that promises to significantly enhance regulatory oversight and reduce compliance burdens, the final joint rule establishes the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) as the standard for entity identification. It also establishes common identifiers for geographic locations, dates, and certain products and currencies.
In practice, the entities most likely to fall within scope are those that already report financial data to the nine agencies, from banks and credit unions to securities and derivatives market participants, to investment advisors and mutual funds. The precise reporting obligations, however, will be set by each agency’s own rulemaking rather than by the joint rule itself.
The Data Foundation, which has advocated for the modernization of federal financial data reporting for over a decade, welcomed the rule’s establishment of the LEI as the standard for entity identification, describing it as a significant turning point in modernizing federal financial reporting.
Why the LEI
The FDTA explicitly requires the adoption of a common, non-proprietary, machine-readable legal entity identifier available under an open license. This requirement dates back to the 2011 'Linchpin' paper, in which U.S. regulators first recognized the need for a standardized code to uniquely identify legal entities and their relationships.
The final rule reaffirms that the LEI – as a globally standardized 20-character alphanumeric code that uniquely and unambiguously identifies a legal entity – is the standard that best meets the requirements outlined in the FDTA:
Many commenters supported the establishment of the LEI as the legal entity identifier joint standard. These commenters stated, among other things, that the LEI meets the requirements of the FDTA, would promote interoperability, would provide improved identification of entities across jurisdictions, is already well-established in at least some markets and among larger financial entities, has low costs and fees, and has a transparent and independent governance structure.
Final Rule: Financial Data Transparency Act Joint Data Standards
Following a thorough public consultation, the final rule confirms why “the LEI meets all of the FDTA’s requirements for legal entity identifiers, that is, it is common, nonproprietary, and is available under an open license.”
What Next?
With the joint rules coming into effect from 1 October 2026 and providing a common foundation, each implementing agency now has up to two years to complete its own rulemaking and incorporate the joint standards into respective reporting requirements. Entities preparing for FDTA-driven reporting can act now: review LEI coverage across your organization and counterparties, identify gaps, and begin obtaining LEIs where needed. This work takes time and does not depend on the agency rulemakings being finalized. During this period, all interested stakeholders are encouraged to monitor agency-specific consultations as they open and engage with the rulemaking process where relevant.
GLEIF also looks forward to engaging with each agency while continuing our commitment to broadening the accessibility and utility of the Global LEI System.
Organizations can search and verify existing LEIs through the Global LEI Index, and any legal entity that does not yet have an LEI can obtain one from an accredited issuing organization.
The ‘LEI Lightbulb Blog Series’ from GLEIF aims to shine a light on the breadth of acceptance and advocacy for the LEI across the public and private sectors, geographies, and use cases by highlighting which industry leaders, authorities, and organizations support the LEI and for what purpose.
If you would like to comment on a blog post, please identify yourself with your first and last name. Your name will appear next to your comment. Email addresses will not be published. Please note that by accessing or contributing to the discussion board you agree to abide by the terms of the GLEIF Blogging Policy, so please read them carefully.
Peter Warms is the Head of Business Development, North America, for the Global LEI Foundation (GLEIF), where he focuses on expanding the use of the LEI in the private sector, particularly in client onboarding and know-your-customer processes for financial institutions. His work also extends to the public sector through collaborations with regulators and emerging business use cases such as payments, digital strategies, supply chain, and sustainability. In addition, he is an active member of the International Organization for Standardization Technical Committee (financial services) and the Standards Advisory Group (SAG).
Previously, as a Senior Manager at Bloomberg, Peter led the initiative to introduce the Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI) to the financial services industry. Recognizing the need for a unifying symbology to provide unique identification across asset-class silos, he originated and championed the effort within Bloomberg to offer a global solution as a public good and an open data standard.
