The Government is committed to implementing its electoral pledge to appoint an ombudsman focusing exclusively on complaints related to financial services and products.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the controversy surrounding compensation claims for the La Valette Property Fund highlighted the need for more safeguards.

Addressing the media at the end of a visit to the Malta Financial Services Authority offices in Mrieħel yesterday, he told the 200 employees he wanted to convey a message of optimism and continuity.

Dr Muscat said the Administration was very careful not to jolt this thriving industry in spite of the change of government, underscoring the fact that both MFSA chairman Joe Bannister and Central Bank governor Josef Bonnici enjoyed his full confidence. The MFSA will continue to expand further with more recruits set to join in the near future.

“This bodes well for the future of the financial services industry,” Dr Muscat said.

Malta must retain its flexibility in the financial sector or lose its competitiveness, he said.

On the other hand, he conceded that the financial crisis was a watershed that forced the EU to rethink its strategy and take a much stricter approach.

Dr Muscat said prospects to attract further foreign investment were bright but warned this should not be done at the expense of Malta’s strict financial regulations “that were crucial for the country to ride the financial storm of 2009”.

He hinted that, in the wake of Cyprus’s recent financial crisis, the Government and the MFSA were pressured to “seize the opportunities presented by a number of companies moving out of countries in deep trouble”.

He said although there might have been short-term gains in attracting such firm, in the long run they could have undermined the country’s financial sector. Dr Muscat said Malta must protect its reputation.

“This is no place for shady business and operators must align themselves with our regulations and not the other way round,” he said.