A correspondent account is a necessary requisite for settlements between credit organizations. The totality of these accounts is reflected in the bank balance on account number 301 with subsequent detailing depending on the type of transactions. Among them are the following:
- Accounts that a commercial bank opens with the Bank of Russia. It reflects contributions to the authorized capital, received interbank loans, outstanding amounts, etc. (on the debit of subaccount number 30102). On a loan: loans issued on the interbank market, receipt of cash, transfer of tax amounts, commissions, etc.
- Accounts that a credit institution opens with other credit institutions (NOSTRO are recorded on subaccount No. 30110), and accounts that other banks open with this financial institution (LORO, subaccount number 30109). They reflect not only the bank’s own operations, but also a number of transactions of its customers.
A correspondent account is a link for building relationships with foreign banks. Banks can open their accounts with foreign credit organizations. The latter, in turn, can do the same in domestic financial institutions. In order to detail accounting, correspondent accounts for operations with precious metals are separately allocated.
A correspondent account is an opportunity for a bank’s bookkeeping to monitor relations with other credit organizations every minute, because analytical accounting assumes the separation of operations for all corresponding banks. In order to comply with the currency legislation, foreign bank accounts are also allocated that conduct operations in Russian rubles (accounts of type “K” and “N”, reflected on sub-accounts 30122 and 30123).
A correspondent account is, in fact, a twenty-digit number, each figure of which has a strictly defined meaning. In the territorial division of the Bank of Russia or the Bank itself, it opens after a commercial financial organization received a certificate of state registration. In order to open a correspondent account with a foreign bank, you need to send a set of strictly defined documents there, most of which must be translated and certified accordingly.
Sberbank's correspondent account may vary for units in different cities. The first three digits in it are always equal to 301, the next two are the number of the balance account (2nd order), then the next three digits indicate the currency of the account (the Russian ruble is encoded 810). Next is one check digit, eight digits are reserved for the encoding of the bank account, and the last three coincide with the last three digits of the credit institution's BIC. For example, for the central office of Sberbank, the last figures of the correspondent account are 225, and for Baikalsky - 607.
Who else can have a correspondent account? The Bank of Russia is concerned with such a question as opening accounts of this kind for foreign national banks in order to conduct operations in rubles and other currencies.