| The USBE is a parallel system to the
ACSS used for payment items in U.S. dollars, drawn on and payable to
accounts at financial institutions in Canada. Each participant makes
entries to reflect the exchange of payment items in various streams with
every other participant. Although it is not a clearing and settlement
system in the same sense as ACSS, it provides a similar mechanism to
track the exchange of U.S. dollar payment items and the resulting
balances due to and from participants. However, these balances are
calculated on a bilateral basis between each pair of participants rather
than on a multilateral basis, as is the case for the ACSS.
Procedures related to the USBE are outlined in the CPA Rules,
Section K. Settlement is
effected through correspondent banks in New York and is accomplished
through a series of wire payments. Thus, the Bank of Canada is not
involved in this process. |
