By the end of its first five years of operation in Malta, Banif Bank (Malta) plc, a subsidiary of Portugal’s Financial Group, hopes to be listed on the Malta Stock Exchange and have evolved into a major reference on the local banking circuit, chief executive officer Joaquim Silva Pinto tells The Times Business in an interview.
Banif Bank (Malta) plc made headlines twice in September by opening two branches in a matter of days to bring its nationwide tally to eight. Mr Silva Pinto said the bank was on track to meet the objectives of its original business plan.
Banif Bank (Malta) plc, a Maltese bank owned by Portugal’s Banif Financial Group and local investors who hold a 28 per cent stake, came to the islands 21 months ago determined to establish itself as an alternative banking option in a market dominated by two major players. Last year, the group declared that the Maltese operation intended to hold a market share of between 10 and 20 per cent, and open 22 agencies in the next four to five years.
“We are positively surprised with the results we have obtained so far,” Mr Silva Pinto said of the bank’s first months in Malta, citing the adverse international conditions hovering over the birth of a new financial institution. He said Banif had decided from the outset that it would forge ahead with the new venture despite the clouds and stick to the original business plan. Banks, he said, are not designed for the short-term.
“Some things are going a little slower than expected,” Mr Silva Pinto conceded. “Other things are going faster. We are basically on track with our programme as much as targets which depend only on the bank are concerned.”
Banif Bank (Malta) plc will shortly be able to offer investment products once licensing procedures are finalised but Mr Silva Pinto said the immediate priorities were the establishment of a solid retail network and acceptance by the local banking population.
Mr Silva Pinto said the bank was also keen to identify locations where other local banks were not present like up-and-coming residential or commercial areas.
Banif currently has exactly 100 staff members on its books – including three Portuguese – and Mr Silva Pinto is quick to underline that the bank’s achievements in Malta to date were mostly to the Maltese team’s credit.
Asked where Banif Bank (Malta) plc saw itself in three years’ time, Mr Silva Pinto was unequivocal: “That will be five years of operation in Malta. We would like to be a quoted institution on the stock exchange and we would be a reference in the local market as an option in the financial sector.”
Mr Silva Pinto explained that after the investment phase, the bank would move into consolidation mode through to the fifth year of operation. By then, Banif should be “one of the most solid institutions in Malta”.
Banif Financial Group was established in 1988. With total assets of €10 billion, the group incorporates over 50 companies employing over 5,000 people in 500 branches in 15 countries.