CVE correspondent banking: who clears the CVE

Tracing a CVE chain

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

Who clears CVE payments?

CVE settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a CVE payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 5 distinct institutions act as CVE correspondents.

How concentrated is CVE clearing?

The three largest CVE correspondents between them serve about 75% of the banks that publish a CVE 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 CVE correspondent?

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