I wonder how many economists agree that “the Maltese Government’s debt-to-GDP ratio is strong”. This is precisely how Bank of Valletta’s CEO described it in a recent interview published in World Finance magazine.

Certainly, not if one adds on (as one really should) the several ‘letters of comfort’ (guarantees), in total already exceeding €1 billion and topping up the ratio to over 90 per cent. On the whole, what the CEO said makes sense, even though at times he tended to get a little carried away: “BOV carries half the Maltese economy” and “is a shaper of the Maltese economy”.

If it weren’t for its Investment Division’s fiascoes (notably the MMProperty Fund), BOV could well merit a “paragon bank” description. Pity that the majority of directors persist in bullying the downtrodden Property Fund investors and, in the process, also embarrassing the Government.