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Negotiable Financial Instruments > This page Security Identifiers Screens Bonds, Stocks and Financial Instruments, usually have one or more identifier codes, issued by various clearing houses or other agencies. The purpose of these identifiers is to prevent confusion when discussing a particular security, particularly a bond (because a company will usually only have one class of stock, but can have many different bond issues). This is a list of what the various securities codes stand for, who issues them, and what their structure is. offers an on-line global analytical system that is useful for institutions buying or selling fixed income securities, equities, or foreign exchange. No longer used; replaced by the Common Code on January 1, 1991. CUSIP International Number. Nine digits. First digit is always a letter, which represents the country of issue. First six digits represent the issuer, next two represent the security, and the final digit is the check digit. The first digits codes are as follows: A=Austria, B=Belgium, C=Canada, D=Germany, E=Spain, F=France, G=Great Britain, H=Switzerland, J=Japan, K=Denmark, L=Luxembourg, M=Middle East, N = Netherlands P=South America, Q=Australia, R=Norway, S = South Africa, T=Italy, U=United States, V=Africa (Other), W = Sweden, X=Europe (Other), Y=Asia. Issued in Luxembourg, replaces CEDEL and Euroclear codes. Nine digits. Final digit is a check digit, computed on a multiplicative system. CUSIP (More information on CUSIP) Stands for Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures. Run by S&P, they assign a nine digit code to stocks and bonds. The first six digits identify the issuer. The next two digits represent the security that was issued, and the final digit is a check digit (uses modulus 10 double add double). First digit is always a number. This identifier is used for Canadian and U.S. securities only: other countries use CIN. Not used any more; replaced by the Common Code on January 1, 1991. International Securities Identification Number. This is a twelve digit code developed by the International Standards Organization that represents a security. The first two letters always represent the country code, and the ISO standards are used. Basically, these are the same two letters as used in internet addresses (but GB, not UK is used for Great Britain). The next nine characters use some other code usually, such as CUSIP in the United States, SEDOL in England, etc. Leading spaces are padded with 0. The final digit is the check digit, also computed with modulus 10 double add double, but it's different from the method used in CUSIPs. ISIDPlus covers all major national and international numbering systems, Reuter Identification Code. Used on the Reuters Terminal to pull up a particular security. It's a rather ugly looking thing with an equals sign in it somewhere. If the equal sign is that the end, that is a master RIC, whereas a RIC that follows with an equals sign and then some additional letters means that that is the price quoted by someone, symbolized by the letters following the equals sign. Stock Exchange Daily Official List. British securities identification code. Has a built in check digit system. Standard Industrial Code. Tells what line of business a firm is in, does not symbolize a security. Security Identification Code Conference. Used in Japan, usually four digits. Sort of like a ticker in Japan. Societe Interprofessional Pour La Compensation des Valeurs Mobiliers. Used in France. Used in Belgium. Identifier for Swiss securities. No check digit system. Issued in Germany by the Wertpapier Mitteilungen. Six digits, no check digit. Different ranges of numbers represent different classes of securities. Sometimes called WPK. Note that this number has widespread use in Germany: much more so than the CUSIP in the United States, for instance. See Wertpapier Kenn-Nummer. See Wertpapier Kenn-Nummer. Recommended further reading: |