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WSTWST

WST correspondent banking: who clears the WST

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

WST in the instruction data

Aggregate figures from the current SWIFT standing settlement instruction dataset.

38
banks publish a WST instruction
9
correspondents serve WST
79%
served by the top three
14
countries represented

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

Tracing a WST chain

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

Who clears WST payments?
WST settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a WST payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 9 distinct institutions act as WST correspondents.
How concentrated is WST clearing?
The three largest WST correspondents between them serve about 79% of the banks that publish a WST 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 WST correspondent?
Search the bank's BIC, select WST, and the chain resolves hop by hop to the institution that clears the currency, including the nostro account number on each relationship.
Trace a WST chainHow it works

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