He replaces David Webster, chief executive of Hanley Economic, who has held the post for the past year.
Griffiths said: "I firmly believe that the mutual model offers choice, diversity, customer experience, efficiency and democracy and that it is in the best interests of consumers? financial wellbeing to have a vibrant and strong mutual sector. I am privileged to this year take the position of chairman of the BSA and I will continue to promote fair choice and competition in the market.
"The sector has survived an extremely severe recession, where consumer confidence has been shaken. Continued uncertainty around the future remains and the road to recovery will undoubtedly be bumpy.
"But what is currently being hailed as a new banking era is in fact, a return to traditional values and an ethos that has been rooted in the building society sector for the over 200 years. Being owned by your Members and accountable to them promotes quality customer service as a desirable objective rather than a way to generate profits to deliver dividends to shareholders. Societies take pride in supporting their local community and organisations, and this local knowledge makes the sector well-placed to develop new innovative solutions to the issues that face the financial industry today.
"Mutuals will continue to be challenged over the next couple of years as societies face increasing pressure to raise more capital and hold more liquidity and in my new role I will work to ensure that the introduction of new regulatory reform should not be based exclusively on the plc model but should cater for mutuals too, to ensure that our strong sector remains a firm fixture in the competitive landscape."
David Stewart, chief executive of Coventry, has taken over as BSA deputy chairman from Peter Griffiths.
