SAR correspondent banking: who clears the SAR

Tracing a SAR chain

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

Who clears SAR payments?

SAR settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a SAR payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 250 distinct institutions act as SAR correspondents.

How concentrated is SAR clearing?

The three largest SAR correspondents between them serve about 33% of the banks that publish a SAR 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 SAR correspondent?

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