AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION ABA

The American Bankers Association (ABA) is the largest banking trade association in the United States. Founded in 1875, the ABA represents banks of all sizes. The ABA offers a wide range of products and services to its members, in fields such as staff training, insurance, capital management, asset management, risk/compliance and consulting.

The nine-digit routing numbers seen on every check originate in a system of bank transit numbers developed by the ABA in 1910.

The ABA is very active in lobbying Congress on behalf of banking interests. The focus of its lobbying effort in recent years has been the elimination of the tax-exempt status of credit unions. Traditionally, the credit union served a small, highly targeted membership, such as the employees of a company. In recent years, however, credit unions have been able to greatly expand their fields of membership and potential customer pools. Many credit unions now have over $1 billion in assets and rival the size of large banks. The ABA argues that credit unions have become so much like banks that their tax-exempt status is no longer justified.