Portuguese bank Banif opened its first branch in Malta in St Julian's on Monday. The premises were inaugurated by President Eddie Fenech Adami during a ceremony hosted by Banif Financial Group chairman, Comendador Horácio Roque, in the presence of Banif Bank (Malta) plc chairman Joseph Sammut and CEO Joaquim Silva Pinto.
During his welcome speech, Comendador Horácio Roque said: "Banif Bank (Malta) plc strives to become a key player in the Maltese market by capitalising on the knowledge and expertise gained from other countries with the same economic and social characteristics of Malta, like Azores and Madeira.
The bank's initial priority is to create a strong business structure based on solid internal processes. The next step will then be to focus on new customer acquisition and cross-selling, which will lead to network expansion and increased market share gains. Comendador Horácio Roque gave an overview of the group's dimension.
Banif S.A. (Banco Internacional do Funchal) was established on January 15, 1988, in Funchal, an autonomous region of Madeira, following the takeover of Caixa Económica do Funchal, a regional savings bank which was founded in Funchal in 1879.
With total assets of €10.3 billion, Banif Group employs 4,500 people in 450 branches, including 57 insurance offices, and has over one million clients representing an overall market share of around 3.6 per cent of the Portuguese financial services sector.
However in Madeira and Azores, the bank has a market share of 26 and 34 per cent respectively, making it the market leader in those islands.
Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the Banif Group has expanded its operations and is now the seventh largest financial group in Portugal.
Banif SGPS, SA (the parent holding company of the Banif Group) operates in banking, insurance, leasing, consumer credit, factoring, renting, investment banking, asset management, international and off-shore banking business.
On January 15, Banif Financial Group celebrated its 20th anniversary with a major rebranding exercise endorsed by the brand signature - power of believing, which will provide the platform for further growth.
"The recent A-2 rating by Moodys and the election of Banif as one of the leaders of the future by Standard & Poor's, encourages us to go even further," added Comendador Horácio Roque.
Internationalisation has been a core element of the group's strategy over the last years, not only by leveraging the Portuguese community presence in the world but also by creating an adequate platform for the sharing of banking and insurance competencies across geographies.