AUD correspondent banking: who clears the Australian dollar

Tracing a AUD chain

Each instruction names the institution holding that bank's AUD account. Following those links repeatedly ends at a bank that publishes no onward AUD instruction — the ultimate clearer, with direct access to RITS. That is where the money actually settles before moving inwards to the beneficiary.

Who clears AUD payments?

AUD settles through RITS. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a AUD payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 535 distinct institutions act as AUD correspondents.

How concentrated is AUD clearing?

The three largest AUD correspondents between them serve about 30% of the banks that publish a AUD instruction. Concentration matters because the withdrawal of one correspondent can affect a large number of respondent banks at once.

How do I find a bank's AUD correspondent?

Search the bank's BIC, select AUD, and the chain resolves hop by hop to the institution that clears the currency, including the nostro account number on each relationship.