The regulators for fair competition and consumer protection should ensure that no one abused or took advantage of the dominant position they could enjoy in society.

Opposition finance spokesman Charles Mangion said in a statement that banks in Malta should pass on the reduction in base rates ordered by the European Central Bank to their clients. The Labour Party, he said, encouraged the Malta Financial Services Authority and the Central Bank to take the initiatives permitted by law in the national interest.

He welcomed HSBC's decision to set up a fund for businesses and said it expected other banks to do the same. The initiative was “very positive and recommendable”, Dr Mangion said.

He pointed out that everyone was conscious of the main banks’ strength and said that in the current circumstances every initiative which enabled an extension of credit was valid.

Banks had to remember that it was through their clients’ deposits that they had favourable liquidity, saving them from having to borrow from the international markets at high rates.