The amendments to the Maltese Trusts legislation opened up new opportunities, simplifying the process of setting up a trust and, meanwhile, assuring consumer protection.

This development meant that the bank could offer its customers a new range of services, one of which is the Trust Bank Account.

It is an interesting financial product, which offers customers the familiar features of a traditional bank account with the unique benefits inherent in a trust arrangement.

The HSBC Trust Bank Account incorporates into a typical bank deposit new features such as estate planning, asset protection, a high level of confidentiality, and the ability to establish one's own terms in respect of various matters.

In simple terms, a trust is a legal agreement entered into between a settlor and a trustee for the benefit of third parties, known as beneficiaries. By virtue of the trust agreement, the settlor (the individual corporate owning the assets) transfers ownership of the asset to the trustee (the bank).

The law imposes an obligation on the trustee to administer these assets in the best interest of the beneficiaries, who may also include the settlor.

In this way, wealth can be placed into a trust for named beneficiaries and/or for estate planning purposes.

This is a further reason why the product has generated a great deal of interest since its launch last month. Meeting our customers' expectations remains our greatest achievement. We, at HSBC, are sure that this product will help us make yet another step in the right direction.

Mr Sammut is a trust practitioner and deputy head of HSBC Bank Malta plc's Trust Services Department. For more information on HSBC's Trust Account as well as other trust products and solutions, contact the department's dedicated Trust Helpline on 2380-8888.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.