August 2, 2023 - Today CUSIP Global Services (“CGS”) announced the launch of a unique entity identifier created specifically for the $5 trillion syndicated loan market and the private credit space.

The CUSIP Entity Identifier (CEI), a unique 10-character code assigned to each legal entity holding corporate loans, was developed in collaboration with the LSTA and Versana.  

Background:  

Traditionally, it has not been easy for lenders to verify information related to their positions, undrawn commitments, contract level details, interest/principal/fee payments, accruals, and transaction histories.  But today, as agents transmit their data in real-time to Versana’s centralized platform, Versana can provide lenders and their service providers with this level of detail on their corporate loan holdings.  It is Versana’s objective to create real-time, straight through processing from admin agents’ records to lenders and their fund administrators, trustees and custodians via APIs (application programming interfaces) to seamlessly transmit digital data and exponentially improve data accuracy and workflows.

What Is Required in Order to Transmit Data from System to System?

A strategic component to the data transmission and consumption referenced above is that parties, deals and facilities are uniquely identified, and that all loan systems utilize the same set of unique identifiers.  However, with technology designed to optimize system interoperability and digitally connect the entire loan market, it became apparent that there was a need in the corporate loan market for an “open-source” entity identifier, freely available to all market participants, including vendors, without restriction.   Based on the financial services industry’s reliance on CGS to uniquely identify instruments and entities to support efficient global capital markets and given CGS’ long history of working with the LSTA and loan market participants in the creation and wide adoption of CUSIPs for corporate loans, the LSTA requested that they build this new identifier. 

Issuance Methodology:

CEIs are constructed from a combination of letters and numbers in a standardized format and are 10 characters long.  The CEI ID structure is Alpha first character, Numeric second character, and the rest random while the last character is a check-digit.   Each legal entity will have one CEI per jurisdiction; however, multi-managed funds will have a unique CEI issued based on each fund/fund manager relationship.   The fund manager is responsible for the application and maintenance of the CEIs, which can be done by maintaining a valid tax form on the portal.   For further information regarding entities that are and are not eligible to receive CEIs and for how CEIs are issued, retained and terminated in connection with corporate actions, please refer to the CEI User Guide.

How to Apply for a CEI:

CEI registrants, (banks, fund managers, insurance companies, etc.) must submit a One-Time Onboarding form, creating a profile with CUSIP after which it can request CEIs for its branches, funds, trusts, etc. by completing the request form and submitting source documentation, e.g. tax forms.   A registrant may request up to 1,000 CEIs in a single submission by selecting “bulk registration”.   For further information, refer to CUSIP Entity Identifier CEI Request Submission.

CEI Search:

While there is a cost incurred in applying for a CEI which is described in the CEI Guidelines, CEIs are made freely available to all.  The front end CEI web interface is open without restriction and data can be accessed by any visitor to the CUSIP.com website without restriction.  No credentials or permissions are required to access and retrieve the CEIs assigned.  Market participants can also search the CEI database and download the data in CSV format on a more flexible delivery schedule, free of charge.  In addition, CEIs can also be delivered through the CEI Data API which provides on-demand data access more securely and with fewer resources than traditional data feeds. It allows users to select and choose the data they need without hosting a database.

What are the Next Steps?

Apply for and populate your CEIs in your system so that you are ready to enable the adoption of streamlined digital workflows.  Versana will aid in facilitating the wide distribution and use of both CEIs and CUSIPs by ingesting and publishing them via its real-time digital data platform. You are not going to want to miss out on receiving your data in real-time!  Help them help you!