Marcel Cassar, chief executive officer of APS Bank Ltd, has been elected chairman of the Malta Bankers’ Association (MBA) for the coming year. His appointment was announced following the association’s annual general meeting held earlier this month.

Mr Cassar expressed his gratitude to the member banks for trusting him to lead the association through such interesting and challenging times for the financial services industry. He said that he was looking forward to maintaining active dialogue among the members, with the competent authorities and also at an international level. Mr Cassar thanked outgoing chairman Mario Mallia for his direction and hard work and also paid tribute to James Bonello who will be retiring as secretary general after 14 years in office, which culminated a highly distinguished career in banking and financial services.

In his capacity as MBA chairman, Mr Cassar will also be representing the association on the Board of the European Banking Federation.

The MBA is a full member of the Federation which is committed to supporting policies that foster economic growth and jobs, and unites 32 national banking associations in Europe that represent some 3,500 banks employing about two million people and making loans in excess of €20 trillion available to the European economy.