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.
| Method | Daily amount | Principal-risk effect |
|---|---|---|
| Payment versus payment | $5.2tn | Eliminates |
| Netting/intragroup/controls | $7.6tn | Mitigates |
| Gross bilateral | $1.4tn | Fully exposed |
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.
This 2026 broker-regulation explainer focuses on retail selection. It does not address wholesale settlement mechanics, so BIS data remain the authority.
Published June 2026. No social claim was used for the settlement figures.