COP correspondent banking: who clears the COP

Tracing a COP chain

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

Who clears COP payments?

COP settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a COP payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 12 distinct institutions act as COP correspondents.

How concentrated is COP clearing?

The three largest COP correspondents between them serve about 50% of the banks that publish a COP 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 COP correspondent?

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