BND correspondent banking: who clears the BND

Tracing a BND chain

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

Who clears BND payments?

BND settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a BND payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 16 distinct institutions act as BND correspondents.

How concentrated is BND clearing?

The three largest BND correspondents between them serve about 60% of the banks that publish a BND 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 BND correspondent?

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