Bank of Valletta has officially inaugurated a new branch in the new SkyParks Business Centre at Malta International Airport.

The bank said it invested over €65 million in capital expenditure over the past five years and now operates 44 branches around Malta and Gozo.

Minister of Finance Tonio Fenech opened the new branch. He spoke of how Malta’s banking system has remained robust throughout the international crisis and has continued to support growth in the local economy. In parallel, Government has delivered on its commitment towards a prudent financial strategy, which has ensured a stable economy.

“For the Maltese people, for investors in our country and for the people providing service, this means stability, certainty and an economic environment that brings prosperity”.

Earlier this month Bank of Valletta passed another Europe-wide stress test of major banks after it was deemed to be adequately capitalised by the European Banking Authority. The study revealed that the bank had a Core Equity Tier 1 ratio of 10.6 per cent, which was significantly above the minimum of nine per cent required by EU regulations.

The Minister added that “Bank of Valletta, being a systemically important bank, has been instrumental in helping Malta avoiding the credit crunch by maintaining access to finance. SMEs are doing much better that most of their EU counterparts in the current economic crises, and the value-added has been growing steadily since 2009 with both the number of SMEs and employment staying stable. Far fewer loan applications have been rejected or made subject to acceptable conditions, and even fewer SMEs in Malta reported deterioration in access to public financial support or in the willingness to provide loans”.