BBD correspondent banking: who clears the BBD

Tracing a BBD chain

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

Who clears BBD payments?

BBD settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a BBD payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 20 distinct institutions act as BBD correspondents.

How concentrated is BBD clearing?

The three largest BBD correspondents between them serve about 53% of the banks that publish a BBD 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 BBD correspondent?

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