In his comments (National Bank Group Saga, April 26) Lino Spiteri asserted that only National Bank of Malta (NBM) employees were involved in bullying individual shareholders to sign over their NBM shares to government way back in 1973. In his letter National Bank Scandal (May 10) George Sclivagnotis relates his own experience and states that, in his case, he had given in to the pleas of a friend of his, a NMB employee. However, he did say that it was known at the time that both police and bank employees were involved in hassling NBM shareholders to give up their shares.
... why does not the government dispose of part of this... shareholding...?- Anthony R. Curmi, St Julians
Thus, I cannot see how one can categorically state that the police (aided by thugs?) were not involved in threatening NBM shareholders with dire consequences if they did not immediately transfer their shares to government. Indeed, it was no secret that even Malta’s Ambassador to Italy at the time was involved in seeking the signatures, by personally calling at their Rome addresses, of members of Marquis Scicluna’s family who had substantial equity interests in the NBM.
The object of this letter is not to enter into the merits of whether or not NBM employees were the only persons involved in chasing shareholders to give up their shares nearly 40 years ago. This notwithstanding that I was already then a senior official in Barclays Bank and have a good recollection of the uneasiness that Malta’s entire banking system went through in those dark days.
The passage of time is unlikely to place any judge presiding over the long-outstanding court cases in a position where he/she can have the real feel of what exactly prompted the run on the NBM in 1973 and thus dispense justice in a case that has been passed on from one judge to the other over the years.
My proposal is that it is time the government took the bull by the horns and made a real effort to have this matter settled out of court assuming that the Association of NBM shareholders (as plaintiffs in the outstanding court cases) are ready to accept a reasonable settlement.
According to Bank of Valletta’s annual report and financial statements as at September 30, 2011 the government owns 25.23 per cent of the equity and a further 0.48 per cent is held by Malta Government Investments Ltd (a fully government-owned entity). Thus the government’s investment in BoV can be said to be worth nearly €131 million at the current market price of €2.12 per share.
My calculations are based on the fact that the government holds 61,704,000 of the 240 million shares in issue.
Some years back it was stated in the media that the government and the Association of NBM shareholders had attempted to strike an out-of-court settlement but this foundered because the latter’s demands exceeded the amount that government had offered. I do not recollect the exact figures mentioned in the media but I believe that the difference was not so astronomical as to prevent another effort from being made at an amicable settlement.
More so bearing in mind that the current worth of the government’s BoV shareholding at nearly €131 million must be way above whatever figure the government may have deemed fit to offer some years back.
So why does not the government dispose of part of this – even the entire – shareholding and finally wipe the slate clean on this blot on Malta’s banking history by reaching an out of court settlement with the aggrieved ex-NBM shareholders and their heirs?
Admittedly, the government would thereby be giving up its share (say, €8 million per annum) of BoV’s annual dividend. But then the surplus between €131 million and whatever amount the Association of NBM shareholders should be prepared to accept is bound to be a welcome addition to the government’s coffers!
With goodwill on both sides justice can finally be done and the courts would be released from having to dispense justice on something that happened nearly 40 years ago.