Databases Companyidentifiers V1 Jan2007 Gc

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ISD Library

Company Identifiers

This guide describes the various systems used to identify companies. It describes where specific codes can be used in Library databases, and how to match different coding systems. Contents Section A: Identifiers for Financial Instruments Section B: Company Registration Numbers Section C: Screening by Identifiers Section D: Hints on using identifiers in particular products

Section A: Identifiers for Financial Instruments ISINs There is a global numbering system administered by the ANNA Service Bureau, on behalf of the national numbering agencies. ANNA is the Association of National Numbering Agencies and is run by Standard & Poors and Telekurs. The identifier from ANNA is the ISIN (International Securities Identification Number) and this is the only ISO-certified (ISO 6166) securities identifier for cross-border transactions. The purpose of ISINs is to facilitate the industry’s moves towards straight-through processing (STP). The database contains over 2 million ISIN numbers representing items from over 180 countries. ISINs are applied to equities, bonds, commercial paper and warrants. The ISIN is derived from identifiers controlled by national organisations like stock exchanges. The ISIN is made up of three parts, a 2-letter country code, a 9-character alpha-numeric national security identifying number (NSIN) and a single character check digit. The country code is the ISO 3166-1 2-character code for the country of issue. NSINs are described below. ISIN check digits are based on the “Modulus 10 Double Add Double” technique. NSINs NSINs are produced by national securities organisations. In the UK the London Stock Exchange (LSE) produces SEDOL (Stock Exchange Daily Official List) codes for financial instruments including equities, unit trusts, OEICs etc. The SEDOL code is a unique 7-character string of 6 alpha-numeric characters with a trailing check digit. The LSE changed the structure of the code in January 2004 because codes based on the previous 7 digit numeric string were reaching capacity. SEDOLs are converted into ISINs by padding out with 2 leading zeros, adding the Market Identifier Code (MIC) at the front and the ISIN check digit at the end.

Because of problems with the ISIN system, SEDOLs have not been superseded. What is being investigated is how SEDOLs and ISINs can specify a trade on a particular exchange. In the USA, Standard & Poors issues the CUSIP number on behalf of the Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures. The CUSIP code is a numeric string of eight characters ending with an additional check digit. They can be converted into ISINs by preceding the CUSIP with the appropriate US or CA country code and adding the final check digit. Other examples of national coding systems are Sicovam (used in France), SICC (Japan) and SVM (Belgium). Reuters has its own system called RIC (Reuters Identification Code). Examples of ISINs and NSINs

ISIN SEDOL CUSIP

UK Company Next GB0032089863 3208986 N/A

US Company Apple US0378331005 2046251 037833100

European Company KPN NL0000009082 5956078 780641205

Other Stock Symbols Many stock exchanges have developed their own systems of stock symbols, the most well-known of which is the “ticker” applied to US stocks. In contrast to ISINs the ticker symbol shows the exchange on which the stock is being traded. By interpreting the symbol, the stock and market can be determined. In the US, stocks on the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ all have their own tickers. NYSE tickers are 13 characters, AMEX are 2-3, and NASDAQ 4-5. These differences in string length apply to the underlying company, not to the stock itself. So there are special meanings to the characters which appear after the full stop (.) in the NYSE ticker and to the 5th character in the NASDAQ ticker. (See the Wikipedia article on Ticker symbols for a full list). The SEC also has its own system of identification called the CIK or Central Index Key, which is used to specify corporations or individual people. CUSIP also issues a number for non-US and non-Canadian companies. This is called the CIN, or CUSIP International Number. It is 9 digits long, made up of the first character signifying the country of issue, 5 characters representing the issuer, 2 characters the security, and a final check digit. Some country codes are G – Great Britain, D – Germany, F – France, E –Spain and J-Japan. In the UK, prior to 1996 stock codes were called EPICs (Exchange Price Information Computer). EPICS were renamed TIDMs (Tradable Instrument Display Mnemonics) following the introduction of a new trading platform. However, the earlier term remains in use. In Europe, there is a clearing system for bonds and equities called Euroclear. This also has an identifier code of 9 digits called COMMON. The number is jointly issued by Euroclear and Clearstream, a division of the Deutsche Bourse following a takeover of the original clearing system called CEDEL in 2002. Similarly, electronic databases with company and financial market information have adopted their own systems for coding entities on their systems. All entities on Bloomberg are called “tickers” whether or not they are stocks. However, the Bloomberg ticker is made up of a company symbol and a market symbol. On Datastream there is a system of company mnemonics, with both alphabetical and numeric equivalent company codes. The alphabetical version shows the market on which the shares are being traded. There is not a direct or necessary matching between the database systems and the US ticker.

Examples of other identifiers used by electronic library services etc Company Identifier US Ticker Bloomberg Ticker

UK Company Next NXT NXT LN

US Company Apple AAPL AAPL US

European Company KPN

Datastream Mnemonic Datastream Numeric Code Datastream Local Code (1) Worldscope ID(2) Worldscope Permanent ID(3)

NXY

@AAPL

H:KPN

901203

992816

142440

UK:NXT

U03783310

H00908

C826BS070

37833100

C528C0760

N/A

C84002890

C528C0760

BvD ID No(4) WVB No(5) VALOR No(6)

GB04412362C 01752EX 3208986

US30015NUC 30015NU 000908440

NL02045200C 30003EN 001076509

Euronext Ticker(7)

KPN US

KPN

NOTES (1) This is an identification code based on the official local exchange code. It comprises up to 12 characters, prefixed by an alphabetic country code. For UK it is the TIDM and for the US the CUSIP (2) A 9-character identifier used by WS to identify companies/securities on the database. For US companies the CUSIP is used. (3) WS Primary Issue Identifier is provided at a security level for companies with more than one type of common/ordinary share. An identifier to enable cross searching on BvD products (4) BvD ID number is an identifier that uniquely identifies each company included in at least one BvD product. The first 2 characters correspond to the ISO country code, and the following characters depend intrinsically on the type of company to which the number is attached. Note: GB, not UK, is used for Great Britain. The code is not displayed in FAME, but can be constructed as above. (5) An identifier created by Telekurs, the Swiss financial information company and numbering agency, which maps to other identifiers like ISINs. (6) A European exchange

Section B: Company Registration Numbers Most countries have other systems for specifically identifying companies. These may be for the registration of companies and their names, VAT or other tax administration, trade, or statistical purposes. These numbers may appear with their different names on several products. Examples of company registration numbers Country Name Issuer France SIREN Official identification number Germany Crefo Creditreform Italy CCIAA Chambers of Commerce Netherlands Handelsregister Chambers of Commerce UK Registration Companies House USA IRS* Internal Revenue Service * IRS is properly the EIN or Employer Identifier Number used by IRS as the identifier

Section C: Screening by Identifiers The following table sets out where it is possible to search (or screen) for companies using as criteria the identifiers listed in Sections A and B. The BvD products are FAME, AMADEUS and OSIRIS

Product DATASTREAM BLOOMBERG BvD Identifier

Datatype if available

ISIN SEDOL CUSIP TICKER CIK COMMON SICOVAM WPK

WC06008 WC06006 WC06004 FTSTKR

DS CODE DS LOCAL CODE WS IDENTIFIER WS PRIMARY ID

DSCD LOC

F

Y Y Y Y

CO REG NO IRS NO

MERGENT

A O

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Y

Y Y Y Y

Y Y Y

WC06035 WC06036

BvD ID NO WVB NO VALOR NO

CAPITAL IQ

Y Y Y WC06007

Y Y Y Y

Section D: Hints on using identifiers in particular products DataStream 1) To upload a list (containing Datastream mnemonics or company codes) Open the list in Excel Highlight the entries (no spaces or odd text). It is important to insert leading “zeros” for certain list applications. Go to Datastream-AFO Go to Tools Select Create List from Range. Store the list locally/upload to Datastream. Use the L# mnemonic in a list application 2) To view company names and identifiers Go to Datastream-AFO Open a static request Insert the codes for various identifiers (from the table above) in the Datatype entry box.

BvD products 1) Uploading company lists To upload a list of companies into FAME, you will need the company registration numbers. You cannot upload a list based on name or any other identifier. The file containing the registration numbers must be saved with a .ron or .bvd file extension. In order to create the list and save it with the appropriate file extension, use Notepad. This will default to trying to save the list you create as being a text file, but you can change the file type to all files and then rename your file with .ron or .bvd after its name. To open the list in FAME, click on the Load a Company File (available via the expert search) and then browse for your file. Once it has been found, you should be able to open your set of companies as a list. You can then format your list your display the data required. To upload a list of companies in AMADEUS, you will need their BvD identifier numbers. Nothing else will work. Follow the stages described above for FAME. This time the file should have the .bvd extension. To upload a list of companies in OSIRIS, you use files generated as above but with several different file extensions i.e. .set for an unspecified list, .tic for tickers, .bvd for BvD id numbers, .wvb for WVB numbers, .val for VALOR numbers. 2) Matching companies BvD provides special software called CINS (Company Identification Number Search) which allows you match companies from an internal client file with those on a BvD database. The software simplifies the process company verification and matching, and links with the BvD id no. To use this software, choose the File drop-down menu and click on CINS 3) Alerts You can use a company file as a basis for alerts. S/ISD/Library/Research Support/SubjectGuides/SubjectGuide_CompanyIdentifiers_v1_Feb2007_GC.doc