Look up a BIC/SWIFT code and return full institution details including name, country, city, branch info, and LEI regulatory data. When to use: identifying the bank behind a BIC/SWIFT code for compliance checks, payment routing validation, correspondent banking lookups, or KYC enrichment. When NO...
Single-target operation
Part of the Ibanforge MCP server. Enforce policies on this tool with Intercept, the open-source MCP proxy.
AI agents call lookup_bic to retrieve information from Ibanforge without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.
Even though lookup_bic only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.
Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.
tools:
lookup_bic:
rules:
- action: allowSee the full Ibanforge policy for all 5 tools.
Agents calling read-class tools like lookup_bic have been implicated in these attack patterns. Read the full case and prevention policy for each:
Other tools in the Read risk category across the catalogue. The same policy patterns (rate-limit, allow) apply to each.
Look up a BIC/SWIFT code and return full institution details including name, country, city, branch info, and LEI regulatory data. When to use: identifying the bank behind a BIC/SWIFT code for compliance checks, payment routing validation, correspondent banking lookups, or KYC enrichment. When NOT to use: if you already have an IBAN, use validate_iban instead — it resolves the BIC automatically as part of the validation. For sanctions/compliance screening, use compliance_check. Behavior: this tool is read-only with no side effects. It validates the BIC format (ISO 9362), then queries a local SQLite database of 121,000+ institutions sourced from GLEIF. For BIC11 lookups, if the specific branch is not found, it falls back to the head office (XXX suffix). Detects test BICs (e.g., MARKDEF patterns). Response time is under 10ms. Returns a single JSON object. Input: accepts BIC8 (e.g., 'UBSWCHZH') or BIC11 (e.g., 'UBSWCHZH80A'). Case-insensitive. Returns: { bic, bic8, bic11, valid_format, found, institution, country_code, country_name, city, branch_code, branch_info, lei, lei_status, is_test_bic } Example: input 'BNPAFRPP' → { institution: 'BNP PARIBAS', country_code: 'FR', country_name: 'France', city: 'PARIS', lei: '...', found: true } Example: input 'INVALIDX' → { valid_format: true, found: false } Example: input '123' → { valid_format: false, error: 'BIC must be 8 or 11 characters' } Cost: $0.003 USDC per call via x402 micropayment on Base L2.. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Ibanforge MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Add a rule in your Intercept YAML policy under the tools section for lookup_bic. You can allow, deny, rate-limit, or validate arguments. Then run Intercept as a proxy in front of the Ibanforge MCP server.
lookup_bic is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the lookup_bic rule in your Intercept policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the Intercept policy for lookup_bic. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
lookup_bic is provided by the Ibanforge MCP server (ibanforge). Intercept sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Open source. One binary. Zero dependencies.
npx -y @policylayer/intercept