British Bankers' Association
| British Bankers' Association | |
| |
| Founded | 1919 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | London |
| Products | Industry Association |
| Web site | www.bba.org.uk |
The BBA is the leading trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector. It represents 223 banking members from 60 countries on the full range of UK or international banking issues and engages with 45 associated professional firms. Its member banks make up the world’s largest international banking center and operate about 150 million accounts.
The association is known for establishing and maintaining lending rates such as LIBOR, the benchmark of the average rate at which a leading bank can obtain unsecured funding in the London interbank market.[1] In the wake of the scandal surrounding LIBOR manipulation, the BBA has come under criticism from politicians and the public for being complacent in regulating the index.
Anthony Browne of Morgan Stanley was appointed as head of the BBA in June, 2012, following the exit of Angela Knight.[2]
History[edit]
The BBA was founded in 1919. The association was reconstituted in 1972, the same year it first accepted foreign banks. The BBA plays a dual role of influencing decision makers, by promoting a legislative and regulatory system which takes the needs of its members into account, and promoting and defending the industry, by engaging in public discussion with the media and government to highlight the strengths of UK banking.
LIBOR[edit]
LIBOR (bbalibor) was first developed in 1984 when UK banks requested the BBA to create a calculation that could be used for the real rate of borrowing. As London grew to become a major finance center so too did the benchmark. More than 20 per cent of all international bank lending and more than 30 percent of all foreign exchange transactions now take place in London.
The rate is used as a barometer to measure strain in money markets and as a gauge of market expectation for future central bank interest rates. LIBOR is also used as a reference for many mortgage and retail loans as well as derivatives contracts such as interest rate swaps and many futures contracts. [3]
Governance[edit]
The BBA Board is made up of executives from:
- Barclays Bank
- BNP Paribas
- Citibank
- Credit Suisse
- Deutsche Bank AG
- Hampshire Trust
- HSBC
- J.P. Morgan Europe Limited
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Santander
- Standard Chartered Bank
- RBS
Key People[edit]
- Marcus Agius, Honorary Chairman
- Anthony Brown, Chief Executive
- Sally Scutt, Deputy Chief Executive