A representative office of Bank of Valletta was opened in Brussels this morning by the Prime Minister.
"Today, is an important milestone not only for Bank of Valletta, but also for Malta.
"At a time when the European banking and financial sector has come under considerable stress over the past few weeks, Malta's banking sector is today projecting a message of resilience, strength, vision and growth," Prime Minister Gonzi said.
He said the opening of the office brings Europe and its opportunities closer to the Maltese private sector.
Europe, he stressed, offered enormous opportunities despite the challenges that the world was facing.
Dr Gonzi said that having joined the EU internal market and adopting the euro, Malta projected itself as a sound and attractive destination for foreign investment and opened up opportunities for Maltese entrepreneurs.
Malta's economic fabric was today more diversified and the private sector managed to respond, restructure, invest and employ more.
Throughout this transition, Maltese businesses were given the assistance and support of European schemes and funding. Since 2007 over 2,600 businesses benefited from direct European funding amounting to over €76 million. The absolute majority of these beneficiaries were SMEs, Malta's economic backbone.
In addition to these funds, the Government secured €51 million through the JEREMIE initiative that Bank of Valletta was operating. Over 300 SMEs benefited from this favourable credit facility. €28 million euro have been sanctioned from the fund generating close to €45 million in investment.
"This is Europe. We are together creating opportunities for growth, investment and employment. Today, Malta is registering amongst the fastest employment growth rates in Europe as well as the lowest unemployment rates.
As Malta continues to face the challenges that are unfolding on the European scene, my government remains committed to negotiate in favour of Malta and its private sector," Dr Gonzi said.
OFFICE TO ASSIST MALTESE BUSINESSES
The new BOV representative office will assist Maltese enterprises tap into EU centralised funds and help them take advantage of the evolving EU internal market.
The office, which will be headed by Mark Scicluna Bartoli, will also help to enhance the bank’s already good working relationship with EU institutions namely the European Commission and the European Investment Fund, and the Pan-European associations based in Brussels.
The office is hosted within the headquarters of the European Savings Banks Group (11, Rue Marie-Thérèse / Maria-Theresiastraat) of which BOV has been an active member for the past 10 years.