BBA - British Bankers' Association
London, United Kingdom
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) is the leading UK banking and financial services trade association and acts on behalf of its members on domestic and international issues. Our 213 banking members are from 50 different countries and collectively provide the full range of banking and financial services. They operate some 150 million accounts and together make up the worlds largest international banking centre.
The BBA’s high level strategic aims are:
To restore trust and confidence in banking
To be the principal trade association for banking
Restoring Trust and Confidence in Banking
Trust and confidence in banking in the UK is at a low level and there is widespread hostility to banks among politicians, regulators, the media, consumer groups and some business groups. This makes it difficult for banks to get their legitimate concerns addressed. This represents a big opportunity to improve perception and understanding of the sector. The high level strategic aim of the BBA in 2013-2015 is to work with the banks to rebuild the reputation of the banking sector and of itself.
To achieve this, the BBA should seek to work with the industry to help make the changes necessary to increase public and political support for banking. This will help banks to reclaim public recognition and approval of their essential role in the economy and society more generally. It should aim for a greater appreciation of the benefits to the UK economy and the UK public of having a strong, customer-focussed internationally competitive banking sector, and wider acknowledgement of the very significant changes the industry has undergone since the start of the financial crisis. The ambition should be to restore confidence and trust in banking so that BBA members can fully contribute to the delivery of sustained economic growth and support customers and clients, and so that the sector is no longer a subject for political debate.
As such, the BBA should be seen, both by members and non-members, as an agent of change and part of the solution to the problems in banking, rather than as a defender of the status quo. It should not just react to specific announcements, or be seen to be defending the indefensible, but build on a strategic vision for banking.
THE principal association for banking
The BBA strives to be a highly respected industry association, seen to be working both for the interests of its members, and of the wider economy and the public. It should be an association that third parties are proud to partner with, and its views should command attention and respect. The BBA represents all those offering banking services in the UK, including small banks, private banks, foreign banks, mutuals and challenger banks, and should ensure that it serves all of them. It should actively review and monitor its membership offering to ensure it appeals to all sections of membership.
The BBA continues to lead on representing the industry on regulation, legislation or market infrastructures that either have the potential to, or in reality will affect banks and their customers, including co-ordinating industry wide consensus on both technical and non-technical issues. The BBA should also provide thought leadership in the changing regulatory and economic landscape of financial services and banking. This means looking beyond specific reforms, and providing high level strategic insight into the future of the industry. The BBA should be seen by members as an important first port of call for all non-competitive cross-industry initiatives.
The BBA represents industry views at UK, EU and international level and promotes the role of banking, and of the UK banking sector, across the EU, working in partnership with the European Banking Federation.
To support the BBA’s high level strategic aims, it has a number of high level operational objectives, including;
Helping customers
Promoting growth
Raising standards
A Summary of the Current Vacancy
A vacancy has arisen within the Retail Banking Team for a Retail Policy Director, specialising in Retail Credit and Debt matters. This is a demanding and high profile role under consistent media scrutiny, with exposure to retail banks’ executive and senior leadership teams and equivalent exposure within the political and regulatory conduct community.
The Retail Team is structured to closely align with the core retail banking activities of taking deposits, providing loans and making payments and reports to the Retail Policy Committee, comprising the Heads of Retail Banking for the UK’s largest retail banks.
The credit market generally is undergoing a period of significant regulatory change, through the transition from an enforcement regime led by the Office of Fair Trading to a supervisory regime led by the Financial Conduct Authority (overseeing the mass retail credit market for the first time). The successful candidate will be in the vanguard of this process.
Alongside, the BBA has long campaigned for the simplification of debt remedies for customers who are in financial difficulty and the successful will be responsible for championing a change agenda that delivers effective and sustainable repayment solutions in the face of sceptical public opinion.
In Europe, both credit markets and over-indebtedness are currently subject to policy scrutiny by the European Commission and the role requires the successful candidate to both protect the domestic credit market from unnecessary regulation and identify opportunities to facilitate market expansion.
The successful candidate will therefore be expected to:
Act largely on their own initiative (a ‘self-starter’) to challenging timelines;
Formulate a compelling policy approach for retail credit matters that supports the BBA’s strategic aims and high level operational objectives;
Build networks of domestic and pan European contacts to provide insights and support BBA policy thinking;
Influence debates and negotiate effectively to embed this approach across the sector;
Communicate effectively to a range of stakeholders, including the media and general public.
In a more generic sense, the main duties – for which experience would be preferred – are to:
Identify banking policy and regulatory issues of importance to members;
Formulate, by consensus, an ‘industry-view’ on issues and risks;
Gain an influential audience for ‘industry-views’;
Influence policy and regulatory matters affecting members to achieve outcomes in their best interests;
Give best advice and support to members to enable them to cope with legislative and regulatory change;
Propose and initiate actions to promote the BBA’s prestige and London as a world-class international banking centre;
Make significant contributions to policy making and strategic decisions affecting the banking industry;
Produce top quality reports/recommendations to be presented orally or in writing;
Establish and retain effective relationships with individuals and bodies within and important to the industry.
Management/Supervisory responsibilities
Direct Reports: None
Education and Experience
Qualifications/education required
A good standard of education, with professional qualifications also preferred;
Membership of a professional body preferred.
Experience required
Familiarity with financial markets generally and credit/debt markets specifically;
Familiarity with regulatory and legislative framework for banking;
Knowledge of current and emerging capabilities of new banking products;
Exposure to policy and strategic issues.
Knowledge/skills required
Problem solving abilities;
Strong analytical skills;
Appreciation of personal financial services;
Negotiating skill and persuasiveness;
Diplomacy and political awareness.
Personal attributes
Strong inter-personal skills;
Team working skills;
Mental flexibility and agility;
Imagination and creativity (original thinking);
Dynamism and hard-work ethos;
Goal oriented and high sense of commitment;
Tolerance of frustration and a sense of humour;
Strong presentations skills – in writing and speaking;
Computer literacy.
Applications no later than 12th June to recruitment@bba.org.uk.