NOK correspondent banking: who clears the Norwegian krone

Tracing a NOK chain

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

Who clears NOK payments?

NOK settles through NBO. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a NOK payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 381 distinct institutions act as NOK correspondents.

How concentrated is NOK clearing?

The three largest NOK correspondents between them serve about 40% of the banks that publish a NOK 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 NOK correspondent?

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