BSD correspondent banking: who clears the BSD

Tracing a BSD chain

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

Who clears BSD payments?

BSD settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a BSD payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 15 distinct institutions act as BSD correspondents.

How concentrated is BSD clearing?

The three largest BSD correspondents between them serve about 62% of the banks that publish a BSD 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 BSD correspondent?

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