PEN correspondent banking: who clears the PEN

Tracing a PEN chain

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

Who clears PEN payments?

PEN settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a PEN payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 24 distinct institutions act as PEN correspondents.

How concentrated is PEN clearing?

The three largest PEN correspondents between them serve about 43% of the banks that publish a PEN 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 PEN correspondent?

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