A
ABA - American Bankers Association (national trade association of commercial banks in the United States)
ABA - American Bar Association (organization representing practicing attorneys in the U.S.)
ACFE - Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (an international professional body dedicated to combating fraud)
ACH - Automated Clearing House (computer-based clearing and settlement facility for interchange of electronic debits and credits between financial institutions)
ACL - Audit Command Language (audit-related software)
ACRS - Accelerated Cost Recovery System (rules for the depreciation of certain assets allowing for a shorter depreciation period and higher depreciation rates)
ACU - Asian Currency Unit (unit of account for dollar-denominated deposits held in separate accounts in Asian banks and financial institutions)
ADB - Asian Development Bank (international financial institution promoting economic development in Asia)
ADBG - African Development Bank Group (international financial institution promoting economic development in Africa)
ADR - American Depositary Receipt (negotiable certificate issued by a U.S. bank for shares of stock issued by a foreign corporation)
ADS - American Depositary Share (share issued under a deposit agreement representing the underlying share of a foreign-based corporation)
AIB - American Institute of Banking (educational division of the American Bankers Association)
AICPA - American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (professional organization of practicing Certified Public Accountants in the U.S.)
AID - Agency for International Development (federal agency created in 1961 to administer assistance programs to less developed countries through a loan program)
AIS - Accounting Information System (a systematic device and methods used for gathering, processing, and reporting accounting information)
ALCO - Asset-Liability Committee (senior management cmmittee in a bank or thrift institution responsible for coordinating borrowing and lending strategy, and funds acquisition)
ALLL - Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (the reserve financial institutions must maintain against loan and lease losses)
AMEX - American Stock Exchange (U.S. stock exchange located in New York City)
AMI - Alternative Mortgage Instrument (residential mortgage loan, which allows for larger loan amounts, but also higher financing charges)
AML - Anti-Money Laundering (bank reporting requirements designed to track and prevent money laundering - funneling money from illegal activities into legal organizations and the financial system)
AMLA - Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (Legislation passed in 2021 intended to strengthen, modernize, and streamline bank reporting requirements related to money laundering - funneling money from illegal activities into legal organizations and the financial system.)
ANSI - American National Standards Institute (non-profit organization that sponsors industry standards for information management and data communication)
APO - Army Post Office
APR - Annual Percentage Rate (effective cost of credit in consumer loans and real estate loans expressed as a percentage rate)
APT - asset protection trust (special form of irrevocable trust, usually created offshore, for the principal purpose of preserving and protecting part of one's wealth against creditors)
APY - Annual Percentage Yield (amount of interest, expressed as a percentage rate, a deposit account (or a share draft account) would earn in a year at a stated interest rate)
ARM - Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (residential mortgage in which the interest rate floats up or down according to changes in an index rate)
ASB - Auditing Standards Board (authoritative body of the AICPA setting standards for audit engagements)
ATM - Automated Teller Machine (computer terminal allowing consumers to make deposits, obtain cash from checking or savings accounts, pay bills, transfer money, and conduct routine teller transactions)
ATRR - Allocated Transfer Risk Reserve (special portion of a bank's loan loss reserve covering so-called country risk)
ATS - Automatic Transfer Service (prearranged transfer of funds from a savings account to checking, allowing the depositor to earn interest until funds are needed to cover checks written or to maintain a minimum balance)
AVM - Automated Valuation Model (computer-generated estimate of residential property value used for mortgage lending)