The Banking Association South Africa has its genesis in the Council of South African Banks (COSAB). Four separate associations addressing specific areas of activity in the banking sector were merged into COSAB in March 1992. These associations were:

• The Association of Mortgage Lenders.
• Merchant Bankers Association.
• Clearing Bankers Association.
• Association of General Banks.

COSAB was a committee-driven structure and was deemed to be inappropriate to address the dynamic issues prevalent in the sector. The leadership of the sector decided to establish The Banking Council South Africa in March 1998 under the stewardship of R.S.K. (Bob) Tucker. The Banking Council South Africa was an executive driven body that was structured to address the challenges in the sector.

The Board of The Banking Council South Africa decided on 7 March 2005 to change the name of the body to The Banking Association South Africa because this was a more appropriate description of the structure of the body and its role.

Mr. Cassim (Cas) Coovadia was appointed Managing Director of The Banking Association South Africa.

The Role of The Banking Association South Africa

The Banking Association South Africa is an industry body representing all registered banks in South Africa. These include both South African and international banks. The Main Board of the Association comprises the Chief Executives of the five largest South African banks, two Chief Executives representing international banks and two Chief Executives representing the other South African banks. The Banking Association has also established an Operating Board that meets once a month to provide strategic guidance and direction on the myriad of issues addressed by The Banking Association. The Operating Board is structured similarly to the Main Board, but representation is through the heads of retail of the institutions.

The Banking Association South Africa is the mandated representative of the sector and addresses industry issues through:

• Lobbying
• Policy influence
• Guiding transformation in the sector
• Acting as a catalyst for constructive and sustainable change in the sector
• Research and development
• Engagement with critical stakeholders

The broad role of The Banking Association is to "establish and maintain the best possible platform on which banks can do responsible, competitive and profitable banking". A critical role of The Banking Association is to work with its members to enable this role within the context of the transformation challenges our country is addressing.

The Banking Association South Africa manages numerous committees that advise the executive on issues pertinent to the sector. Such committee areas include:

• Access to Financial Services
• Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards
• Agriculture
• Banking Sector Regulation
• Codes of Practice
• Consumer Protection
• Direct Tax
• Housing
• Indirect Tax
• Preferential Procurement
• Small, Medium Enterprise Finance