About Us
Learn more about our mission and history, who we are, what we do and meet some of the faces behind the industry’s preeminent international transaction banking association.
Who we are
BAFT is the leading global forum for bringing the financial community, its solution providers and stakeholders together to collaborate on defining best market practices that facilitate efficient delivery of trade and cash management products and service offerings for their clients.
Listen to the ‘The BAFT Quarterly Round-Up’ for updates from our CEO and subject matter experts covering membership and the association’s most recent work.
The Preeminent Transaction Banking Association
BAFT provides unmatched advocacy, thought leadership, education and training, and a global forum for international transaction bankers across the industry.
Our expertise is focused on the areas of trade finance, payments, compliance and regulations.
For 100 years, BAFT has played an important role in expanding markets, shaping regulatory and legislative policy, developing business solutions and preserving the safety and soundness of the global financial system.
Our History
Founded in 1921 as the Bankers Association for Foreign Trade, BAFT brought together the international departments of 10 banks located in the Midwestern United States to collaborate on common issues and concerns of their international trade customers. When a group of bankers in New York met in 1924 to discuss ways to expedite the business transactions between themselves and their foreign correspondents, they ultimately formed the International Financial Services Association (IFSA). Since 2010, the two groups have operated as one and officially rebranded to BAFT, or the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade, in 2014.
BAFT took a major step forward in 2001 establishing its International Advisory Council to support interests of its growing community of global banks with a presence in the US market, and also established a European Advisory Council to organize efforts to support its European membership. In 2002, BAFT became an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of the American Bankers Association (ABA). With this additional support, the organization’s global growth continued, and BAFT now operates councils throughout the world.
What we do
Mission
BAFT is the leading global industry association for international transaction banking. It helps bridge solutions across financial institutions, service providers and the regulatory community that promote sound financial practices enabling innovation, efficiency and commercial growth.
BAFT works to shape policy, establish best practices, and deliver education and training to its member institutions and the industry at large. Most importantly, BAFT continues to be a valuable resource for bringing together stakeholders across the transaction banking ecosystem to effectively collaborate in solving common issues.
Strategic Pillars
- Promote THOUGHT LEADERSHIP within the industry
- Conduct ADVOCACY on behalf of the industry
- Provide EDUCATION & TRAINING to the industry
- Build a GLOBAL COMMUNITY across the industry
Delivering Value Through
- Opportunities to hear from and connect with global, regional and product leaders
- A strong bench of policy experts who actively engage with lawmakers and regulators
- Industry experts on councils, committees, and working groups
- Global conferences, regional networking and other events
- Webinars, workshops and online training designed for transaction bankers
- Regularly updated best practices and industry guidelines from experts in the field
Board of Directors
Officers
Arab Bank
BNP Paribas
Fulton Bank
Zions Bancorporation
BAFT
Access Bank
Standard Bank
National Bank of Australia
Nordea
Santander
National Bank of Canada
First Citizens Bank
Mashreq
U.S. Bank
Barclays
HSBC
J.P. Morgan
Banque Libano-Française
Standard Chartered
MUFG
Finastra
TD Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deloitte
ING
UBS
Bank of America
