FX Settlement Risk Still Reaches $1.4 Trillion

Conclusion: The institutional FX market still leaves $1.4 trillion of daily obligations fully exposed to settlement risk. The hook for a 'forex bank' reader is that a completed trade is not completed cash movement.

The BIS 2025 Triennial Survey measured more than $14 trillion in average daily gross settlement obligations during April 2025.

Where the risk remains

Why banks care

Payment-versus-payment coordinates both currency legs. The BIS says access, currency eligibility and trade-type eligibility help explain why some transactions remain outside it. Turnover measures trading; settlement data measure delivery.

YouTube cross-check

This 2026 broker-regulation explainer focuses on retail selection. It does not address wholesale settlement mechanics, so BIS data remain the authority.

Sources

• BIS: new measures of FX settlement risk

Published June 2026. No social claim was used for the settlement figures.