Bank of Valletta has re-located its Valletta business centre from its flagship branch in Republic Street to more personalised, spacious and welcoming premises in South Street. The move reflects the bank’s on-going focus to improve its services to the business community.

Clients never forget who trusted them with a sum of money when they started out

The move of the Valletta business centre is also part of an ongoing refurbishment programme that involves all the bank’s six business centres.

Bank of Valletta consolidated the services it provides to companies within business centres over a decade ago, where clients whose needs have outgrown general banking services can find more specialised expertise and advice, ranging from working capital finance, project finance, trade finance, capital expenditure funding and intermediation to EU funding opportunities.

The centres have been hugely successful thanks to the ability to reach out to the business community. They currently handle €500 million in credit facilities, catering to the needs of more than 1,700 corporate clients and sole traders, spread across a variety of economic sectors ranging from the traditional to newly emerging sectors, most notably green technology, pharmaceuticals and ICT.

The traditional sectors which are still considered the pillars of the Maltese economy including wholesale and retail, tourism, construction and manufacturing still require the lion’s share of business finance whether in the form of short-term finance or long-term form of banking support.

In line with the local economy’s DNA, most business centres customers are SMEs, considered to be the core customer segment within the bank’s credit portfolio.

The bank’s approach is built around long-term relationships. From the basic requirements related to the initiation of a business relationship based around micro facilities which can be dealt with at branch level leading to the more complex requirements as the business grows.

The latter can be discussed at a business centre. Higher level requirements of a mature business are handled at the corporate centre at the St Venera head office.

Each business centre hosts up to six relationship managers, so every business customer has a designated professional to follow their progress as business evolves – putting entrepreneurs in a unique position to be able to assess their future requirements based on knowledge of their past.

“Our focus is on efficiency, professionalism and customer satisfaction,” Mario Gouder, the executive head of the Valletta business centre, explained. “Relationship managers meet their clients regularly, track their requirements and make sure that decisions are taken promptly.

“We are well aware that our portfolio growth comes from the growth of our clients. This is why we say that ‘your success is our goal’. I began my career at Bank of Valletta 34 years ago and I recently met a very successful client who started off two decades ago with an overdraft of a few thousands and now requires financing running in hundreds of thousand euros. Clients never forget the people who trusted them with a sum of money when they started out and a result today they are running a healthy business.”

Bank of Valletta has always been prudent in its risk management – this is not merely because of the importance of maintaining a healthy portfolio. It is also because a vital part of relationship management is striking a balance between client’s enthusiasm and dreams against their repayment capabilities.

“It is not enough for a client to have enough collateral to cover a loan: repayment needs also to be feasible and sustainable in the longer term. It would be irresponsible and unethical to allow a client to borrow more than they can repay simply on the basis of the good collateral offered. Clients are not just numbers and targets to us – and this is a crucial aspect of our approach,” Mr Gouder added.

Albert Frendo, chief officer responsible for credit, explained that bank’s support to business entities as they grow and mature goes far beyond the provision of finance but it evolves into an added value relationship where the banker’s experience and expertise is transcended to the business through learned advice and all-encompassing support.

“A relationship manager is a specialist who can guide the client through the whole context, seeing their business plan in the light of market trends, product development cycles, macro-economic developments and beyond. This is particularly true for SMEs, whose size rarely allows them to have dedicated professional staff such as marketing, legal and accounting executives.

“The bank is able to guide them from the basic financial management requirements to specialised needs such as providing intelligence on access to EU funds also through our representative office in Brussels.”

Noel Scerri, executive head responsible for research and business generation, stressed BoV’s innovative approach when it comes to building and maintaining customer relationships. The team he leads is helping the bank venture into (at times) uncharted waters, usually ones traditional bankers fear to tread. This recent set-up is not only conducting market research to identify new business opportunities for both the bank and its customers but is chasing ones arising from the ‘new’ economy.

“This unit’s objectives include the introduction and facilitation of new customers for BoV,” Mr Scerri explained.

“Sometimes, potential customers, often international ones, appreciate some hand-holding when setting up shop in Malta. This unit is also meant to accompany these customers through their first weeks or months of business.”

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