The suburb is named after Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820), the botanist who accompanied Captain James Cook to Botany Bay in 1770.

Nearer and also to the east of Banks is the smaller mountain Big Monks, accessible from Wollemi Place.

Big Monks has a gliding stage near the top, allowing paragliders and hang-gliders to fly over the suburb of Banks.

There is a small shopping centre in the suburb, on the main internal road, Pockett Avenue.

Beneath the alluvium and making up the surrounding hills are the Deakin Volcanics, which erupted during the Silurian age 414 million years ago.