BRL correspondent banking: who clears the BRL

Tracing a BRL chain

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

Who clears BRL payments?

BRL settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a BRL payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 29 distinct institutions act as BRL correspondents.

How concentrated is BRL clearing?

The three largest BRL correspondents between them serve about 49% of the banks that publish a BRL 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 BRL correspondent?

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