Financial scholarship

James Farrugia, of Rabat, the manager of the securities unit of the Malta Financial Services Authority, will be the first beneficiary of a work placement scholarship in London under the Mansion House Scholarship Scheme, granted by the Lord Mayor of The City of London.

Mr Farrugia's is the first of two placements that have been assigned to Malta Financial Services Authority. The MFSA will shortly announce the name of the second candidate to secure a Mansion House Scholarship. The nominee will be attached to a London reinsurance brokerage.

The City of London Corporation will meet the costs of the scholarships while the placements have been arranged by the MFSA.

Mr Farrugia will spend three weeks working in the Global Financial Risk Management Department of Barclays Capital.

The experience will give him first hand knowledge of the workings of a world-ranked finance firm and how it approaches areas such as risk management of funds, particularly in relation to hedge funds and funds making use of derivatives.

Mr Farrugia will also attend briefings at the UK's Financial Services Authority.

In February, Lord Mayor Michael Savory, in his role as ambassador for London's finance industry, made a formal visit to Malta.

Commenting on the scholarship, Mr Savory said, "We in London know that well trained human capital is a great advantage to a finance centre. I am particularly delighted therefore to announce that I have agreed with the MFSA to make two places on The Mansion House Scholarship Scheme available to its staff.

"Through my visit to Malta I gained the clear impression of a finance industry that is enterprising, skilled and innovative. There is very good scope for Malta to act as a gold standard financial services centre in the region," he was quoted saying in a joint statement between the MFSA and the British High Commission.