XAG correspondent banking: who clears the XAG

Tracing a XAG chain

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

Who clears XAG payments?

XAG settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a XAG payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 44 distinct institutions act as XAG correspondents.

How concentrated is XAG clearing?

The three largest XAG correspondents between them serve about 56% of the banks that publish a XAG 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 XAG correspondent?

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