MGA correspondent banking: who clears the MGA

Tracing a MGA chain

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

Who clears MGA payments?

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

How concentrated is MGA clearing?

The three largest MGA correspondents between them serve about 91% of the banks that publish a MGA 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 MGA correspondent?

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