CLS settlement

Following the cooperation between the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) and CLS Group (CLS), on 16 November 2015 the Hungarian forint became the 18th currency settled via the financial infrastructure operated by CLS. This was a major milestone in the development of the Hungarian payment system, as CLS helps to settle international HUF transactions without incurring FX settlement risk. This risk comes from the difficulty of synchronising the two legs of an FX transaction, and so it might happen that a bank transfers the HUF leg to its partner but receives the counter currency (e.g. USD) only hours afterwards. The risk stems primarily form the differing working hours of national payment systems and different time zones and realises when the partner files for bankruptcy after having received the HUF but before having sent the USD. Such a default incurs contagion as the bank can face liquidity problems due to not having received the expected USD amount. CLS solves this problem by synchronising the transactions as an intermediary and guaranteeing that the parties can receive their due amounts only when both legs get credited to CLS’s accounts. This means that with the HUF becoming eligible in CLS a significant risk can now be mitigated by market participants.

Since the launch of HUF settlement in CLS the percentage of global HUF transactions being settled by the system is steadily increasing, but there is still ample room for growth. With this homepage MNB wishes to help CLS Settlement Members looking for a Hungarian nostro agent to settle their HUF payments. Up-to-date information is provided about the monthly HUF turnover in CLS and local credit institutions providing nostro services. By sharing this information even more institutions will be able to join those settling the HUF in CLS and contributing to financial stability.