The German government is fully prepared to help Malta with the technical expertise needed to set up the Malta Development Bank, Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech told Parliament yesterday.

He said that he had been corresponding with the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schauble, on the possibility of help and collaboration.

Answering a question by Claudio Grech (PN), Mr Grech said preparatory work had been under way for months. A working group had been set up to carry out research and make recommendations on the bank’s objectives and what types of loans or other financing it should offer.

The working group would propose the bank’s organisational structures, modus operandi and supervision, and identify capital and other resources. It would make proposals on the bank’s ownership structure and draft statute.

The group was in talks with the EC’s Director-General for Competition, who would have to give approval for the bank, as well as with Eurostat. Several meetings had also been held with other promotional banks.

The plan was for the proposals to be submitted by the end of the year and for enough progress to be achieved for the necessary legislation to be drafted.