BWP correspondent banking: who clears the BWP

Tracing a BWP chain

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

Who clears BWP payments?

BWP settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a BWP payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 32 distinct institutions act as BWP correspondents.

How concentrated is BWP clearing?

The three largest BWP correspondents between them serve about 53% of the banks that publish a BWP 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 BWP correspondent?

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