Bank of Valletta said today that an interim report by its Internal Audit Department found no evidence that allegations of banking malpractices made by Nationalist MP Kirsty Debono in Parliament in January were founded.

Ms Debono had said that certain people within ‘the circles of power’ regularly approached BOV personnel dealing with credit facilities to expedite credit requests.

She also claimed that these people also approached bank staff to approve credit facilities even when such approval was not indicated.

This, Ms Debono said, was a very worrying situation and the bank could not allow a return to the time when the approval of credit facilities depended on acquaintances rather than merit.

In a brief statement this afternoon, the bank said the board of directors discussed the internal audit interim report yesterday and decided to forward a copy of the same report to local and foreign supervisors as well as to the bank’s external auditors for their perusal.

The board highlighted the fact that the external auditors’ statutory opinion on the financial statements for the year ended September 30 was not qualified in any respect.