MFSA tests remote working under Covid-19 contingency plan

Malta’s financials services regulator conducted its operations on Monday with half its staff working off-site to test its contingency plan for the coronavirus.

The Malta Financial Services Authority conducted the “dry-run” to test its level of preparedness to ensure business continuity should the situation concerning coronavirus require that its team members work from home.

The MFSA’s chief operations officer Ivan Zammit said that today’s business went on without hiccups, despite a large portion of team members having been working from different locations around Malta.

“We are pleased to report that it was business as usual for the Authority, notwithstanding that, at one point, we had over 200 team members working from different locations spread nation-wide”, Zammit said.

“As the single financial services regulator, we felt that we should adopt a proactive approach and stress-test our systems to gauge our operational readiness and intervene accordingly. This will ensure that the MFSA will carry on operating normally in the event of an escalation of preventive measures,” he highlighted.

Technology-driven initiatives are at the heart of the MFSA’s Strategic Plan and its technological drive, with investment last year alone amounting to €1.5 million, the regulator said.

Such an investment was both timely and important because it is a key enabler for business continuity as part of the Covid-19 contingency planning, the MFSA said.

The Authority added that it had also implemented a temporary restriction on travel for all its staff and management as well as ongoing office hygienic practices for all its employees and visitors.