NZD correspondent banking: who clears the New Zealand dollar

Tracing a NZD chain

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

Who clears NZD payments?

NZD settles through ESAS. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a NZD payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 354 distinct institutions act as NZD correspondents.

How concentrated is NZD clearing?

The three largest NZD correspondents between them serve about 37% of the banks that publish a NZD 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 NZD correspondent?

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