Euro Banking Association
The Euro Banking Association (EBA, not to be confused with the European Banking Authority or European Banking Authority ) is an association of almost 200 European banks and today plays a key role in the financial industry, especially as an initiator of new European payment systems and as a developer of their infrastructure. The EBA has made a significant contribution to the creation of a uniform European internal market (“Single Euro Payments Area ( SEPA )”).
History and structure
When it was founded in Paris in 1985, the association consisted of 19 members: 18 commercial banks and the European Investment Bank . The European Commission supported this establishment, as did the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Since then the number of members has risen to almost 200: the institutes come from all countries of the European Union as well as from Norway , Switzerland , Australia , China , India , Japan , the USA and the United Arab Emirates . At first, the EBA saw itself primarily as a discussion forum for payment transaction specialists. On the agenda were the promotion of the European currency unit and the development and management of a clearing system within Europe. To this day, the decision-makers in the European financial industry discuss current issues at regular EBA events. Once a year, the EBA organizes a large payments conference, the EBAday. The association's headquarters are in Paris .