RUB correspondent banking: who clears the RUB

Tracing a RUB chain

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

Who clears RUB payments?

RUB settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a RUB payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 286 distinct institutions act as RUB correspondents.

How concentrated is RUB clearing?

The three largest RUB correspondents between them serve about 20% of the banks that publish a RUB 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 RUB correspondent?

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