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Interbank market

By Jarosław Wasiński • Published: • Updated:
The interbank market is a wholesale layer of FX trading involving banks and dealers and their network of quotes and execution venues. It is an important part of global OTC FX, rather than the whole market. The BIS April 2022 figure of about USD 7.5 trillion per day covered all surveyed OTC FX transactions, not only bank-to-bank trading; the later analysis for April 2025 reports about USD 9.5 trillion for the whole market. Wholesale prices can influence retail quotes through intermediaries, but there is no single globally binding FX price or guarantee of identical retail execution. See The interbank FX market.
Example.

Hypothetically dealer A quotes EUR/USD 1.1000/1.1002 for a defined amount and counterparty. Another recipient sees 1.0999/1.1003. Different credit relationships, liquidity, markups and update times can produce different offers without establishing manipulation.

The whole FX market versus the dealer segment

BIS statistics distinguish transactions with reporting dealers, other financial institutions and non-financial customers. The interdealer segment is not the global total, and “wholesale” does not mean that every counterparty is a bank. Sources: BIS: the 2022 survey; BIS: analysis of the 2025 survey.

Credit and access

A trade requires credit capacity, agreements, settlement arrangements and available size as well as a price. Prime brokerage can provide indirect access without an unconditional entitlement to every wholesale quote. Screen prices can have defined acceptance rules.

From dealer to customer

A bank may use inventory, match another flow or hedge externally. A retail broker has its own execution model. The word interbank does not establish the route of every customer trade.

Primary source checked 11 October 2026: www.bis.org.

FAQ

Is there one interbank order book?

No. It is a network of relationships and venues, each with its own books or quotation rules.

Does a wholesale best price guarantee my retail spread?

No. Access depends on entity, amount, credit and execution terms; retail offers can include additional charges.

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Jarosław Wasiński

Editor-in-chief, ForexMechanics.com • Macro & FX analyst

Independent analyst and practitioner with over 20 years of experience in financial markets. Actively involved in Forex since 2007, with a focus on fundamental analysis, OTC market structure, and disciplined capital risk management.

  • Creator and editor-in-chief of MyBank.pl, providing reliable financial education since 2004.
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