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Correspondent and Account Relationships

Correspondent bank, correspondent banking, respondent bank, loro account, and vostro account terms.

Correspondent and account relationship terms describe how one bank holds accounts for, or provides services to, another bank. This branch covers correspondent banks, correspondent banking, respondent banks, loro accounts, and vostro accounts.

Use these pages when the account relationship controls payment routing, settlement evidence, cross-border access, fees, compliance duties, or bank counterparty exposure.

What This Branch Covers

TermUse it for
Correspondent BankA bank providing account or payment services to another bank.
Correspondent BankingThe broader correspondent-bank service relationship.
Respondent BankThe bank using services from a correspondent bank.
Vostro AccountAn account held by one bank on behalf of another bank.
Loro AccountThird-bank account reference terminology in correspondent banking.

Decision Lens

Start with whose account is being described. Nostro, vostro, and loro language depends on perspective, so the same balance can be described differently by different banks.

Evaluation Checklist

  • Identify correspondent, respondent, account owner, currency, account number, service agreement, payment route, and compliance controls.
  • Separate customer payment instructions, correspondent balances, nostro-vostro records, settlement entries, and fee or reconciliation records.
  • Check correspondent agreements, payment messages, account statements, due-diligence files, sanctions records, and reconciliation reports.
  • Review whether the relationship changes settlement timing, counterparty risk, compliance obligations, liquidity, or operational control.
  • Treat legal, sanctions, regulatory, tax, and cross-border compliance conclusions as professional-advice areas.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing correspondent bank with beneficiary bank.
  • Treating vostro and loro terminology without identifying the speaking bank’s perspective.
  • Ignoring sanctions, AML, and due-diligence controls.
  • Reviewing a payment delay without the correspondent message trail.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

Correspondent Bank

A correspondent bank provides services such as payments, clearing, settlement, and foreign access for another financial institution.

Correspondent Banking

Arrangement where one bank provides payment, clearing, settlement, or account services for another bank.

Loro Account

Loro Account is an account held by a bank on behalf of another bank, representing third-party funds and facilitating interbank transactions.

Respondent Bank

A respondent bank uses a correspondent bank to access payment, settlement, clearing, foreign exchange, or account services.

Vostro Account

A vostro account is an account a correspondent bank holds on behalf of a foreign respondent bank in the correspondent bank's currency or jurisdiction.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026