An International Securities Identification
Number uniquely identifies a security.
Its structure is defined in ISO 6166.
Securities for which ISINs are issued include
bonds, commercial paper, stocks and warrants.
The ISIN code is a 12-character alpha-numerical
code that does not contain information characterizing
financial instruments but serves for uniform
identification of a security at trading and
settlement.
Securities to which ISINs can be issued include
debt securities, shares, options, derivatives
and futures.
The ISIN identifies the security, not the
exchange on which it trades; it is not a ticker
symbol.
For instance, Daimler AG stock trades through
almost 30 trading platforms and exchanges
worldwide, and is priced in five different
currencies; it has the same ISIN on each,
though not the same ticker symbol.
ISIN cannot specify a particular trading location
in this case, and another identifier, typically
MIC or the three-letter exchange code, will
have to be specified in addition to the ISIN.
The Currency of the trade will also be required
to uniquely identify the instrument using
this method.
Description
An ISIN consists of three parts: Generally,
a two letter country code, a nine character
alpha-numeric national security identifier,
and a single check digit.
The country code is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
code for the country of issue, which is not
necessarily the country where the issuing
company is domiciled.
International securities cleared through Clearstream
or Euroclear, which are worldwide, use "XS"
as the country code.
Issuance
The ISIN is based on the National Securities
Identifying Number, or NSIN, assigned by governing
bodies in each country, known as the national
numbering agency.
The NNAs are co-ordinated through the Association
of National Numbering Agences, ANNA.
ISIN and CFI information can be accessed through
the ISIN Organization, run by ISIN Organization
PLLC and SIX Financial Information.
The NSIN element of the ISIN can be up to
9 digits long.
Shorter numbers are padded with leading zeros
before the addition of the country code and
a check digit transform the NSIN to an ISIN.
In North America the NNA is the CUSIP organization,
meaning that CUSIPs can easily be converted
into ISINs by adding the US or CA country
code to the beginning of the existing CUSIP
code and adding an additional check digit
at the end.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland the NNA
is the London Stock Exchange and the NSIN
is the SEDOL, converted in a similar fashion.
Swiss ISINs are issued by SIX Financial Information
and are based on the VALOR number.
Most other countries use similar conversions,
but if no country NNA exists then regional
NNAs are used instead.
ISIN Calculation Methodology
The procedure for calculating ISIN check digits
is similar to the "Modulus 10 Double Add Double"
technique used in CUSIPs.
To calculate the check digit, first convert
any letters to numbers by adding their ordinal
position in the alphabet to 9, such that A
= 10 and M = 22.
Starting with the right most digit, every
other digit is multiplied by two.
The resulting string of digits are added up.
Subtract this sum from the smallest number
ending with zero that is greater than or equal
to it: this gives the check digit, which is
also known as the ten's complement of the
sum modulo 10.
That is, the resulting sum, including the
check-digit, is a multiple of 10.
ISINs are slowly being introduced worldwide.
At present, trading, clearing and settlement
systems in many countries have adopted ISINs
as a secondary measure of identifying securities.
Additionally, some of those countries, mainly
in Europe, have moved to using ISINs as their
primary means of identifying securities.
Conversion table for characters is:
In other words; Take the ASCII code for the
capital letter and subtract 55
Examples
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc.: ISIN US0378331005, expanded from
CUSIP 037833100 The main body of the ISIN
is the original CUSIP, assigned in the 1970s.
The country code "US" has been added on the
front, and an additional check digit at the
end.
The country code indicates the country of
issue.
The check digit is calculated in this way...
Convert any letters to numbers:
U = 30, S = 28.
US037833100 -> 3028037833100.
Collect odd and even characters:
3028037833100 =,
Multiply the group containing the rightmost
character by 2:
(6, 4, 0, 14, 6, 2, 0)
Add up the individual digits:
(6 + 4 + 0 + + 6 + 2 + 0) + = 45
Take the 10s modulus of the sum:
45 mod 10 = 5
Subtract from 10:
10 - 5 = 5
Take the 10s modulus of the result.
5 mod 10 = 5
So the ISIN check digit is five.
Treasury Corporation of Victoria
TREASURY CORP VICTORIA 5 3/4% 2005-2016: ISIN
AU0000XVGZA3
Convert any letters to numbers:
A = 10, G = 16, U = 30, V = 31, X = 33, Z
= 35.
AU0000XVGZA -> 103000003331163510.
Collect odd and even characters:
103000003331163510 =,
Multiply the group containing the rightmost
character by 2:
(0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 2, 12, 10, 0)
Add up the individual digits:
(1 + 3 + 0 + 0 + 3 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 1) + + +
0) = 27
Take the 10s modulus of the sum:
27 mod 10 = 7
Subtract from 10:
10 - 7 = 3
Take the 10s modulus of the result.
3 mod 10 = 3
So the ISIN check digit is three.
BAE Systems
BAE Systems: ISIN GB0002634946, expanded from
SEDOL 0263494
The main body is the SEDOL, padded on the
front with the addition of two zeros.
The country code "GB" is then added on the
front, and the check digit on the end as in
the example above.
External links
ISIN.org Database
Javascript code for ISIN validation
References
^ http:www.annaweb.org
^ http:www.isin.org
