CNY correspondent banking: who clears the Chinese yuan

Tracing a CNY chain

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

Who clears CNY payments?

CNY settles through CIPS. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a CNY payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 573 distinct institutions act as CNY correspondents.

How concentrated is CNY clearing?

The three largest CNY correspondents between them serve about 18% of the banks that publish a CNY 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 CNY correspondent?

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