About ABA>Overview

The ASEAN Bankers Association was founded in 1976. From the original five members, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, it became six when Negara Brunei Darussalam joined as a member in 1984. In 1995, Vietnam was admitted into ASEAN as the seventh member and in May 1999, Cambodia was admitted as the eighth member. In July 2001, Myanmar was admitted as the ninth member. In 2004, Lao Bankers’ Association was admitted as the tenth member thus making the constituent membership of the Association complete.

Objectives of the Association are:

a) to accelerate economic growth of the ASEAN countries through collaboration among its member banks;
b) to promote the development of the banking and financial systems and profession in ASEAN countries;
c) to foster friendship and cooperation among bankers in the ASEAN countries;
d) to activate collaboration of its institutions and to provide assistance to one another when necessary; and
e) to identify growth opportunities for ASEAN banks and to promote their common interest.

The Association Comprises Two Principal Organs:

ASEAN Banking Conference

The Conference meets biennially to draw out ideas to attain the objectives of the Association and to present the desirable ones to the Council for more detailed deliberation and subsequent implementation.

ASEAN Banking Council (ABC)

The Council, being the executive arm of the Association, meets annually to formulate policies and coordinate activities of the Association which are carried out and implemented through the various Committees.

The Three Permanent Committees:

which discuss ideas and make recommendations to the Council are:
a) Permanent Committee on Banking Education chaired by the Bankers Association of the Philippines.
b) Permanent Committee on Cooperation in Finance, Investment and Trade (COFIT) chaired by The Association of Banks in Singapore.
c) Permanent Committee on ASEAN Inter-Regional Relations chaired by The Association of Banks in Malaysia.