Profiles · Companies and entities
- Type
- Company or group
- Role
- Lobby or trade group
- Programs
- PPP
- Updated
The profile
The principal trade association for U.S. banks and its federal political committee, BankPac (FEC C00004275).
Identity and role
The American Bankers Association is the principal trade association for U.S. banks. BankPac is its federal political committee, FEC committee C00004275.
Banks and non-bank lenders in PPP
PPP put banks, nonbank lenders, fintech platforms, and lender-service providers inside the same emergency program. ABA's members included incumbent banks, community-bank partners, and chartered institutions whose position differed from the non-bank marketplaces and software firms asking Congress and Treasury for direct access to relief distribution.
Cross River and Celtic were banks that worked with fintechs; ABA's published position argued that government-backed lending should run through supervised banks and SBA-approved lenders.
Political giving and lobbying
ProPublica's FEC Itemizer records a $5,000 BankPac contribution to Friends of Jim Clyburn on November 1, 2022; our copy of the FEC committee overview does not itemize it.
ABA also filed federal lobbying reports.
ABA's policy-analysis paper "Lessons from PPP Fraud for Potential Expansion of the SBA 7(a) Program" argues against widening nonbank access to SBA 7(a) lending.
Where it stands now
ABA remains the main U.S. bank trade association and BankPac remains an active federal PAC. Related profiles: Cross River, Celtic, BlueVine, Kabbage, and the congressional oversight staff.
Sources held in this archive
Original source documents and archived captures
Sources
- FEC, American Bankers Association BankPac committee C00004275: FEC — American Bankers Association BankPac committee C00004275 (original: fec.gov · stored capture)
- ProPublica FEC Itemizer, BankPac contributions to Friends of Jim Clyburn (the Nov 1, 2022 $5,000 line): PAC Contributions from Friends Of Jim Clyburn to Sanford Bishop (original: projects.propublica.org · stored capture) (link now dead)
- ABA policy analysis, "Lessons from PPP Fraud for Potential Expansion of the SBA 7(a) Program": Lessons from PPP Fraud for Expansion of the SBA 7(a) Program (original: aba.com · stored capture)
- OpenSecrets, American Bankers Association PAC profile: 2022 5a43458d5b18e085 (original: opensecrets.org · stored capture)
- Senate LDA search portal for ABA reports: LDA.gov: Search Registrations & Quarterly Activity Reports (original: lda.senate.gov · stored capture)
- FEC administrative-fine memo involving Clyburn late-2022 48-hour notices: Administrative Fine Matter AF 4561, Friends of Jim Clyburn — Federal Election Commission (original: fec.gov · stored capture)