Welcome to the Association of Foreign Banks.  Established in 1947, the AFB is the voice of Foreign Banks in the UK.  Foreign banks oversee over half of all regulated capital in the UK and significantly underpin UK GDP. They engage in a wide range of banking and investment business activity, primarily in the wholesale banking markets. They make a significant contribution to the UK’s standing as a major international financial centre and to the depth and breadth of markets globally, facilitating global trade.

The AFB champions the success of foreign banks in the UK by supporting their establishment; providing a platform for them to share information and best practice; promoting their interests to industry stakeholders, policymakers and regulators; and supporting a positive profile of the sector in the media.  The AFB today has around 200 international banking group members, representing about 80% of the UK’s foreign banking market.

The AFB Mission

Building Banking Business: This is our Mission.

We want everything we do to make a real difference for our members in terms of building their business Back at your Bank here in the UK.

Membership of the AFB is open to all branches, UK-incorporated subsidiaries and Representative Offices of overseas-headquartered banks. Our membership includes the UK firms and affiliated organisations of some of the world’s largest banks; and our members range from the largest, with many thousands of staff, to the smallest, with ten staff or fewer.  As a trade body, we are strongly differentiated by our excellent value for money; our highly member-led approach; and our targeted focus on foreign banks.  We are proud to work proactively with best-in-class partners to provide our members with the very best value content.  We do not permit Associate membership, preferring instead to keep our work entirely “member-led”.  There are many reasons to join us – so read more about how we can support your bank in our Value Proposition for members.