The tech factor in Maltese banking

The Maltese banking system is one of the European Union’s most solvent with its solvency ratios standing well above EU averages. This sector has and continues to experience significant growth and in fact over the past few years while other industries have suffered due to the economic slowdown, the banking industry has faced this recession head on by revaluating its stand on the market.

The core issues faced by banks today are on the fronts of customer’s service expectations, cutting operational costs, and managing competition. Technology has helped banks in meeting these objectives. Information technology is central to banking, and its growth. It has moved from being just a business enabler to being a business driver. In a manner the banking and financial services sector – being the early adopters of any new technology – defines the roadmap for future technology adoption hence recruitment within the banking sector is growing.

Banks are focused on three areas: to meet customer’s service expectations, cut costs, and manage competition. For this banks are exploring new financial products and service options that would help them grow without losing existing customers. And any new financial product or service that a bank offers will be intrinsically related to technology. With this progress in the industry the banking recruitment market is very buoyant.

In fact, vacancies are at all levels, from freshers to mid - and senior-management levels. As most of the banks are expanding aggressively and a large number of staff of PSBs (public sector banks) are retiring, the sector requires a large number of staff to support their growth, and other banks are also relaxing their selection criteria as they are unable to get the requisite number of suitable candidates for jobs across levels.

As the economy continues to expand, most banks are looking to expand their growth and are seeking talented people be it graduates in training or qualified professionals. This has resulted in a spurt in hiring activity in this segment. The key driver to change has largely been the increasing sophistication in technology and the growing popularity of the internet. The shift from traditional banking to e-banking is changing customer’s expectations.

As IT is not confined to any particular industry, the sector overlaps with all other sectors including banking, finance, accounting, insurance and legal. Responding to the requirements of the industry, banks are seeking candidates for the various job openings like software and hardware engineers, computer repairers, data entry operators, database administrators, web and software developers, enterprise resources planning (ERP), sales and marketing, system design, computer and information systems managers, and project managers.

More than 24 foreign or privately owned credit institutions and 15 financial institutions are licensed by the MFSA in Malta, and the list includes some of the most highly respected names in international finance who have chosen to establish a presence on the island as well as a number of trade finance banks offering highly specialised trade related instruments.

It has been crucial that apart from attracting funds and their service providers, Malta has ensured that the right personnel are either present on the island or been attracted to the island. The island can boast of its tertiary education system as individuals are encouraged to obtain post-graduate degrees. Indeed many Maltese individuals possess such qualifications including degrees awarded by universities outside Malta.

The Maltese government has recently expressed commitment to double the financial services contribution to Malta’s GDP by 2015. This key objective has and will continue to propel the continuous development of Malta into a reputable centre for financial services. With more than 5,000 employees in the industry filling jobs at banks, fund companies, investment houses, insurance companies and accountancy practices, Malta has seen many finance companies from the USA, UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey set up operations in Malta, so for people seeking employment in this sector there has never been a better time.

Castille Resources is a local ICT and finance recruitment specialist.

www.castilleresources.com