Finance Minister Edward Scicluna on Thursday admitted the government had been made aware by HSBC of a report by Bloomberg, prior to its publication on Wednesday.

In a rather cautious tone, when asked about the issue by the media, he did not exclude the possibility of the bank leaving Malta but at the same time pointed out that there had been similar speculation in the past which never materialised.

While noting that the government would be holding talks with HSBC, he said that any takeover would have to be approved by the financial regulator.

The alarm bells on HSBC's future in Malta were triggered by a Bloomberg report which said that following the appointment of John Flint as the new CEO last February, the bank was reviewing operations in as many as a quarter of the 67 countries it was established in.

The report made specific reference to Malta saying that it was among a number of “smaller consumer operations”, such as Bermuda and Uruguay, where the bank was mulling an exit.

However, no decisions are expected before June when HSBC will finalise its three-year plan.

Employees were told by the Malta Union of Bank Employees through a circular letter two days ago that the situation was “business as usual”, citing unnamed HSBC “top officials” as its source. The union described the report as “unwarranted negative speculation” but at the same time remarked that it would keep monitoring the situation.

In a public statement it reiterated its belief that the report was mere speculation, but made no reference to any assurances from “top officials”.

The Times of Malta also sought the reaction of the Independent Bankers’ Union. While declining to comment on the future of HSBC in Malta, IBU president Mark Muscat said that in case of any takeover, they would be insisting that all clauses of the collective agreement would have to be respected.

He claimed that when HSBC had taken over Mid-Med Bank in 1999 certain aspects such as an additional month’s pay for each year of service had not been implemented.