For a 20-character code, the Legal Entity Identifier generates a lot of passion.

FORBES: LEI -- 20 Characters In Search Of Authority

The G20 has made adoption of a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) a priority with standards and a structure to regulate it set for March 2013.

FORBES: Financial LEI's -- Required To Reduce Operational Risk

This is fairly esoteric, but since I have written about some of the plans for the Legal Entity Identifier I am including a link to it.

FORBES: Update on the Dodd-Frank Data Developments Like LEI from EDM Council

He cited the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) as an example.

FORBES: Silos Are Good For Farmers, Not So Good For Banks

The American plan to develop a centralized Legal Entity Identifier and run it through the DTCC in New York ran into heated opposition at a meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in Basel in mid-October.

FORBES: America's Attempted Domination Of LEI Slams into FSB Wall

The current push for a unique global identifier for each legal entity was sparked by the financial crisis in 2008 when firms and regulators had a hard time tracing the transactions among key players such as Lehman, Bear Stearns, AIG and the portfolios of mortgage-backed securities.

FORBES: LEI -- 20 Characters In Search Of Authority