BGN correspondent banking: who clears the BGN

Tracing a BGN chain

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

Who clears BGN payments?

BGN settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a BGN payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 102 distinct institutions act as BGN correspondents.

How concentrated is BGN clearing?

The three largest BGN correspondents between them serve about 33% of the banks that publish a BGN 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 BGN correspondent?

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