Everything you need to know about ISIN codes
Published on January 13, 2023
5 mins
If you are a registered Shareholder, you have probably noticed that your Air Liquide shares are sometimes identified using mysterious value codes called ISIN codes. Read on to decipher the meaning of these codes!
Yet another code!
That’s right! International Securities Identification Numbers, or ISIN codes, are codes that identify securities.
They are part of an international standard adopted in 2003 for the purpose of allocating unique identifiers to securities, thereby eliminating the risk of error. Before 2003, financial assets were identified in France using Sicovam codes, which were subsequently replaced when ISIN codes were established to make cross-border transactions easier.
ISIN codes contain 12 characters:
- the first 2 letters identify the company’s nationality
- the following 9 alphanumeric characters identify the security
- the last digit is a “check digit” set by an algorithm to help prevent counterfeiting
At Air Liquide, we have 4 different ISIN codes!
Why isn’t one ISIN code enough? To enable us to take into account your loyalty bonus rights according to the date of acquisition of your shares.For information, when you hold your Air Liquide shares in registered form (directly with Air Liquide or in intermediary form through your bank) for two full calendar years, your loyalty is rewarded. This loyalty bonus translates into a +10% increase on the amount of dividends paid and +10% on the number of bonus shares allocated during the allocation operations.It is therefore imperative to be able to identify the shares that are entitled to the loyalty bonus.
If your shares are registered, your shares are identified by an intermediate ISIN code on January 1st of the following year and are not yet eligible for the loyalty bonus. After two full calendar years, the intermediate code is automatically replaced by a permanent ISIN code, also known as a “bonus” code. This way, you can easily identify the shares in your portfolio that are already benefiting you a loyalty bonus.
The permanent ISIN codes are:
- FR0000053951 for registered shares that are already benefit the loyalty bonus (purchased or converted to registered shares until 2020)
- FR0000120073 for securities purchased during the current year (2023) that, if registered, will earn the loyalty bonus after two full calendar years (en 2026)
The current temporary ISIN codes are
- FR00140063P7 for shares registered in 2021 which will benefit from the loyalty bonus in 2024
- FR001400D5Z6 for shares registered in 2022 which will benefit from the loyalty bonus in 2025
As a reminder, if you hold your shares directly with Air Liquide, these codes appear on your securities account statement, which you can access online from your Shareholder Portal.
To receive the loyalty bonus in 2026 for shares purchased in 2023:
- If you buy your shares from your financial institution: you must ask them to convert your shares into intermediary registered shares so that they are converted before December 31, 2023
- If you buy your shares directly from Air Liquide ("direct registered"): you have nothing to do. Your last purchase orders for 2023 must be executed no later than December 29 at 2:00 pm (Paris time).
