ISO 10962

ISO 10962, generally known as CFI (Classification of Financial Instruments) is a six-letters-code used in the financial and banking industries, to describe the structure and function of each financial instrument (in the form of security or contract). It is an international standard approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Since 1 July 2017, each financial instrument should receive a CFI at the same time it is allocated an ISIN (International Identification Security Number).
The CFI is attributed to a financial instrument at the time when the financial instrument is issued; it will normally not change during the life of that instrument.
Each of the six letters of the CFI represents a specific characteristic of the financial instrument (e.g. "ESVUFB" is used to describe a typical registered share). Those capital letters are drawn from the ISO basic Latin alphabet. 
The first letter of the code is the Category: E for Equity (shares and other instruments of that nature), D for Debt (particularly bonds), C for Collective Investment Vehicles, (i.e. investment funds), etc.
The purpose of the ISO 10962 standard is to provide a recognized standard for describing all financial instruments, which is recognized world-wide by all operators and computer systems in the financial and banking industries. Classification of financial instrument (CFI) Code is used to define and describe financial instruments as a uniform set of codes for all market participants.
The code is issued by the members of ANNA, the Association of National Numbering Agencies. The group is currently working to simplify the structure so that as to increase its use by non-governmental market participants.
Background and Goals of Introduction.
Where distinct entities transact it is seen as helpful to establish a common transaction language. The CFI code is meant to provide the most comprehensive information possible, while at the same time maintaining the code manageability, provides a standard for identification of type of instrument and their main high level characteristics, determined by the intrinsic characteristics of the financial instrument, which would be independent of the individual names or conventions of a given country or financial institution. This principle avoids confusion arising from different linguistic usage as well as redundancy, while allowing an objective comparison of the instruments across markets.
CFI codes also aim to simplify electronic communication between participants, improve understanding of the characteristics of financial instruments for the investors, and allow securities grouping in a consistent manner for reporting and categorization purposes.