BAM correspondent banking: who clears the BAM

Tracing a BAM chain

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

Who clears BAM payments?

BAM settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a BAM payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 20 distinct institutions act as BAM correspondents.

How concentrated is BAM clearing?

The three largest BAM correspondents between them serve about 54% of the banks that publish a BAM 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 BAM correspondent?

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