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TOPTOP

TOP correspondent banking: who clears the TOP

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

TOP in the instruction data

Aggregate figures from the current SWIFT standing settlement instruction dataset.

36
banks publish a TOP instruction
9
correspondents serve TOP
81%
served by the top three
14
countries represented

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

Tracing a TOP chain

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

Who clears TOP payments?
TOP settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a TOP payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 9 distinct institutions act as TOP correspondents.
How concentrated is TOP clearing?
The three largest TOP correspondents between them serve about 81% of the banks that publish a TOP 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 TOP correspondent?
Search the bank's BIC, select TOP, and the chain resolves hop by hop to the institution that clears the currency, including the nostro account number on each relationship.
Trace a TOP chainHow it works

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