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XDRXDR

XDR correspondent banking: who clears the XDR

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

XDR in the instruction data

Aggregate figures from the current SWIFT standing settlement instruction dataset.

1
banks publish a XDR instruction
1
correspondents serve XDR
100%
served by the top three
1
countries represented

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

Tracing a XDR chain

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

Who clears XDR payments?
XDR settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a XDR payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 1 distinct institutions act as XDR correspondents.
How concentrated is XDR clearing?
The three largest XDR correspondents between them serve about 100% of the banks that publish a XDR 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 XDR correspondent?
Search the bank's BIC, select XDR, and the chain resolves hop by hop to the institution that clears the currency, including the nostro account number on each relationship.