HKD correspondent banking: who clears the Hong Kong dollar

Tracing a HKD chain

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

Who clears HKD payments?

HKD settles through CHATS. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a HKD payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 490 distinct institutions act as HKD correspondents.

How concentrated is HKD clearing?

The three largest HKD correspondents between them serve about 24% of the banks that publish a HKD 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 HKD correspondent?

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