American Bankers Association

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The American Bankers Association (ABA) is a free-trade and professional association that promotes and advocates issues important to the banking industry in the United States. The ABA's national headquarters are in Washington, D.C. In addition to its trade association mission, the ABA also performs educational components for consumers through its Educational Foundation affiliate.

[edit] Organization

While the ABA works on a national level, it also is supported by state operated offices (sometimes referred to as “Leagues”) which focus attention on state level support. Both the ABA and the state organizations are dues supported trade associations. Both the state and national offices also operate Political Action Committees (PACs) which use registered lobbyists to work for laws that are advantageous for the banking industry. The president of the ABA is Edward Yingling.

[edit] Trade Association Strategic Priorities

In 2003, 2004 and 2005, the ABA identified the elimination of the tax-exempt status of some competitors (Credit unions and other co-operative non-profits) in the United States as its primary strategic political goal. The ABA feels that large credit unions, which provide consumer first mortgages, should be compelled to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

The ABA contends that bringing credit unions into parity with banks on taxes will “level the playing field for banks.” As of March 2008, there were 132 credit unions with assets greater than $1 billion (NCUA Data) compared to 504 banks and 162 thrifts (FDIC Statistics on Depository Institutions (SDI)).