On 13 December 2022, the Commissariat aux Assurances ("CAA") published Circular Letter 22/19 on use of the Legal Entity Identifier ("LEI") by "Professionals of the Insurance Sector" ("Circular 22/19"), encouraging insurance sector professionals to comply with the obligations relating to use of LEI codes.

Circular 22/19 follows-up CAA Circular Letter 22/13 on EIOPA's revised Guidelines on use of the LEI by insurance and reinsurance intermediaries and ancillary insurance intermediaries ("Circular 22/13") and CAA Circular Letter 14/11 on use of the LEI ("Circular 14/11").

1. Entities affected

Circular 22/19 specifically targets legal persons referred to in Articles 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270 and 271 of the amended law of 7 December 2015 on the financial sector ("PSA").

2. Key requirements

PSA are encouraged to:

  • Take all necessary steps to obtain a LEI code.
  • Communicate the code to the CAA.
  • Use the code in all information exchanges made via SOFie/E-file.

According to Circular 22/19, LEI codes are allocated by a local operating unit ("LOU"). The list of current LOUs is available on the website of the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation

3. Timeline

Circular 22/19 states that PSA should request allocation of a LEI code by 31 December 2022 at the latest.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.