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AZNAZN

AZN correspondent banking: who clears the AZN

Banks without direct access to AZN clearing settle through a correspondent that has it. AZN settles through its domestic clearing system.

AZN in the instruction data

Aggregate figures from the current SWIFT standing settlement instruction dataset.

31
banks publish a AZN instruction
11
correspondents serve AZN
55%
served by the top three
10
countries represented

Individual instructions, BICs and account numbers are available to subscribers.

Tracing a AZN chain

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

Who clears AZN payments?
AZN settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a AZN payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 11 distinct institutions act as AZN correspondents.
How concentrated is AZN clearing?
The three largest AZN correspondents between them serve about 55% of the banks that publish a AZN 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 AZN correspondent?
Search the bank's BIC, select AZN, and the chain resolves hop by hop to the institution that clears the currency, including the nostro account number on each relationship.
Trace a AZN chainHow it works

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