British Bankers Association

The British Bankers association or BBA was formed in 1919. Initially they only represented British banks but opened membership to international banks in 1972. The BBA is the largest trade association in the UK. The BBA is an association that handles the banking and financial services sector. The BBA represents 200 banks from 60 countries regarding the United Kingdom and international banking.

The BBA advocates an international legislative and regulatory system for UK banking and financial services. The BBA takes into account what BBA members want and strives to provide an international competitive market place.

The BBA liaises with governments, and stakeholders and the media to represent the interests of the banking industry.

The BBA member banks together provide banking and financial services. Members comprise the world’s largest international banking centre: it handles 150 million accounts. The BBA contributes approximately £50 billion annually to the UK economy.

They also represent 45 Professional Associate (PA) member firms. Those firms have all of the benefits of up-to-date and accurate information from the BBA.

The BBA is governed by the board of directors. The board is comprised of the BBA Chief Executives and the CEOs of UK and international banks.

The BBA is responsible for the ongoing improvement of the UK Banking Code, UK Small Business Code, UK accounting principles and European banking regulations. The BBA is sets benchmark rates: for example the LIBOR. LIBOR is an acronym for London Interbank Offered Rate: The LIBOR rate is the average interest rate banks in London charge.

The BBA keeps track of UK financial news such as credit card usage, the mortgage market, and the loan market.

The BBA also publishes financial leaflets, books and reports for the banking and financial services industry.

The literature provided is information on such issues as debt, accounts and the principles for business banking, credit derivatives and basic market terms. The BBAs Annual Abstract of Banking Statistics is a popular publication that reports on the size and activities of the UK's banking industry.