Internationally the Securities identification NUMBER (ISIN) is a twelve-digit letter number combination and represents a world-wide clear identification for a security. Securities can be shares, funds, debenture bonds (and/or loan), options or Futures.

The structure of the ISIN is fixed in the ISO 6166. The first two letters are the of the publishing country. But the ALPHA-2-Code of the ISO 3166-1 is used. Then nine letters and/or numbers, the NSIN in such a way specified follow (national Securities Identifying NUMBER). In the last place a check digit stands.

The ISIN is published by the respective national authority (national numbering agency, NNA). In the German stock broking securities were classified so far over a six-digit WKN (security identification number). This was replaced on 22 April 2003 by the ISIN.

German ISINs begins the following NSIN with the land contraction DE, builds itself up followed from three zeros of the past WKN. With the locking check digit the ISIN DE0005752000 results e.g. for the Bavarian AG (WKN 575200).

The check digit is computed and verified by means of the so-called double ADD double formula. For the computation only the first eleven indications of the ISIN without the check digit are used and the result is compared with the check digit. For the verification the check digit is also included into the computation, the result must be then 0.

1. All letters are replaced by numbers. But the position letters in the alphabet by nine is increased, e.g. A = 10, B = 11,"Â…, Z = 35. All numbers remain unchanged.
2. Each second number is multiplied by two. One begins with the last number before the check digit.
3. The checksum is formed by this number sequence. Since each second number was doubled before (see point 2) results from it the designation double ADD double.
4. The check digit results from the difference to the next larger multiples of 10. Or: 10 - (checksum mod 10) = check digit

The ISINs is gradually world-wide introduced. At present they introduced many states as a further possibility for the identification of securities. Only few of these states explained it so far as the priority identification.

Example

Bavarian AG: ISIN DE0005752000, WKN 575200

Related links

• Association OF national Numbering Agencies
• WM data service - Numbering Agency for Germany
• Telekurs - Numbering Agency for Switzerland
• Austrian control bank (OeKB) - Numbering Agency for Austria

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