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KWDKWD

KWD correspondent banking: who clears the KWD

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

KWD in the instruction data

Aggregate figures from the current SWIFT standing settlement instruction dataset.

1,123
banks publish a KWD instruction
155
correspondents serve KWD
43%
served by the top three
82
countries represented

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

Tracing a KWD chain

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

Who clears KWD payments?
KWD settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a KWD payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 155 distinct institutions act as KWD correspondents.
How concentrated is KWD clearing?
The three largest KWD correspondents between them serve about 43% of the banks that publish a KWD 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 KWD correspondent?
Search the bank's BIC, select KWD, and the chain resolves hop by hop to the institution that clears the currency, including the nostro account number on each relationship.
Trace a KWD chainHow it works

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