NGN correspondent banking: who clears the NGN

Tracing a NGN chain

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

Who clears NGN payments?

NGN settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a NGN payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 25 distinct institutions act as NGN correspondents.

How concentrated is NGN clearing?

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

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