GLEIF LEI Company Search — Global Legal Entity Database

Search 2.5 million companies worldwide via the official GLEIF API (Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation). Filter by name and country. Returns LEI code, legal name, address, status and registration authority. Mandated by BIS and FSB for global financial markets.

Data source: GLEIF Open Data (gleif.org) — official BIS/FSB financial authority data, CC BY 4.0.

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Why This Actor?

The LEI (Legal Entity Identifier) is the global standard for identifying legal entities in financial transactions. Required by MiFID II, EMIR, Dodd-Frank, and other financial regulations. This actor gives you programmatic access to the full GLEIF database without needing to manage the 2.5M+ record dataset yourself.

• 2.5M+ entities across 200+ countries
• Real-time GLEIF API — no stale snapshots
• LEI + company data in one call: name, address, status, registry number
• Financial-grade data: used by banks, asset managers, compliance teams globally
• Free data source — GLEIF is open data, no API key for underlying source

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Use Cases

1. Financial Counterparty Identification

Banks and asset managers must identify counterparties by LEI for MiFID II, EMIR, and Dodd-Frank reporting. Search by company name to get their LEI instantly.

2. KYC / KYB Due Diligence

Verify that a company has an active LEI (required for regulated financial entities). Cross-reference with sanctions lists and company registries.

3. Cross-Border Company Data Enrichment

Get standardized company data across 200 countries in a single API — more consistent than calling 200 different national registries.

4. Investment Research

Identify holding structures and subsidiaries via LEI relationships. GLEIF stores parent/child entity relationships for corporate groups.

5. Compliance Reporting Automation

Automate population of LEI fields in trade reporting systems, reducing manual data entry and reporting errors.

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Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
query	string	required	Company name or partial name to search
country	string	all	2-letter ISO country code filter: ES, FR, DE, GB, US, JP, etc.
maxResults	integer	50	Maximum results to return (1–200)

Example: Find Spanish banks

{
  "query": "BBVA",
  "country": "ES",
  "maxResults": 10
}

Example: Global search for holding companies

{
  "query": "Holdings International",
  "maxResults": 50
}

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Output Format

Field	Type	Description
lei	string	20-character LEI code (ISO 17442)
name	string	Official legal name
status	string	ACTIVE, INACTIVE, PENDING_TRANSFER, etc.
country	string	2-letter ISO country of registration
city	string	Registered city
registration_authority	string	National registry name
registration_number	string	Local registry number
incorporation_date	string	Date of incorporation (ISO 8601)
source_url	string	Direct GLEIF record URL

Sample Output

[
  {
    "lei": "VHFKHJIL27EP3K6JIX04",
    "name": "BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTARIA S.A.",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "country": "ES",
    "city": "BILBAO",
    "registration_authority": "Registro Mercantil de Vizcaya",
    "registration_number": "A-48265169",
    "incorporation_date": "1988-10-01",
    "source_url": "https://www.gleif.org/lei/VHFKHJIL27EP3K6JIX04"
  },
  {
    "lei": "7LTWFZYICNSX8D621K86",
    "name": "DEUTSCHE BANK AG",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "country": "DE",
    "city": "FRANKFURT AM MAIN",
    "registration_authority": "Handelsregister Frankfurt am Main",
    "registration_number": "HRB 30000",
    "incorporation_date": "1870-03-10",
    "source_url": "https://www.gleif.org/lei/7LTWFZYICNSX8D621K86"
  }
]

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GLEIF Coverage by Region

Region	Entities	Notes
Europe	~1.2M	Banks, investment firms, corporates
North America	~600K	US, Canada, Mexico
Asia Pacific	~400K	JP, AU, HK, SG, CN
Rest of World	~300K	All countries

Coverage is highest for regulated financial entities. Non-financial SMEs may not have LEIs unless they participate in financial markets.

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Pricing

$0.01 per record returned (+ $0.00005 base start cost).

50 company records = $0.50. 200 records = $2.00.

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Integration Examples

n8n: Enrich counterparty with LEI for trade reporting

HTTP Request (get counterparty name)
→ GLEIF LEI Search (query: counterparty.name, country: counterparty.country)
→ Extract lei from first result
→ Append to trade report payload
→ Submit to regulatory system

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("agoradelmediterraneo/gleif-company-search").call(
    run_input={"query": "BBVA", "country": "ES", "maxResults": 5}
)
results = list(client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items())
lei = results[0]["lei"] if results else None

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FAQ

What is an LEI? A Legal Entity Identifier is a 20-character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies legal entities globally. Required by financial regulators under MiFID II, EMIR, and Dodd-Frank.

Does every company have an LEI? No. LEIs are primarily used by entities participating in financial markets. Banks, investment firms, and large corporates typically have one. SMEs without financial market activity may not.

Is the data current? GLEIF updates records in near real-time as national registries report changes. Status changes (ACTIVE → INACTIVE) are typically reflected within days.

Can I get parent/subsidiary relationships? The raw GLEIF record includes parent_lei if the entity has reported its ultimate parent. This actor returns the basic relationship field — for full hierarchy traversal, contact us.

What's the difference between GLEIF and company registries? GLEIF is a global financial-market identifier layer. Company registries (BORME, Companies House, INSEE) are national sources of incorporation data. Many entities appear in both; GLEIF provides standardized cross-border identification.