The FSB put out a PDF here explaining the state and progress of LEI implementation, within which it mentions they will "launch the global LEI system by March 2013". A simple person might think that means the LEI system will be up and running in a practical way, but nooo. What it really means is that by then it is hoped that the ROC will be in place,  to govern the COU, which the IG and the PSPG are investigating the location of, probably Switzerland. The main goal is to appoint the BOD of the ROC which can then sanction the COU before implementing the LOUs of the federated LEI system. Got it?

• IG = Implementation Group
• PSPG = Private Sector Preparation Group
• ROC = Regulatory Oversight Committee
• BOD = Board of Directors
• COU = Central Operating Unit
• LOU = Local Operating Unit

In plain English: The LEI system is intended to delegate responsibility for issuing LEIs to national organisations. Each organisation will have it's own 4 digit prefix for it's LEIs. The LEIs issued by each national organisation (LOU) must be compatible with all other LEIs, and in concept accessible centrally, to avoid the problem of a person having to login to many national systems. All of this sounds complex, and it is, which is why it will likely be 2014 before we see the global LEI system up and running in a real technical and operational sense. Meanwhile the DTCC/SWIFT CICI Utility (https://www.ciciutility.org) has registered 39,600 entities to enable reporting to SDRs for the CFTC, and will continue to do so until such time as the CICI utility is merged / migrated into the resulting global LEI solution. For $200 you can get your own LEI, it would make a nice Christmas present. Hmm.