CAD correspondent banking: who clears the Canadian dollar

Tracing a CAD chain

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

Who clears CAD payments?

CAD settles through Lynx. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a CAD payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 517 distinct institutions act as CAD correspondents.

How concentrated is CAD clearing?

The three largest CAD correspondents between them serve about 27% of the banks that publish a CAD 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 CAD correspondent?

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