Bank of Valletta opens office in Brussels

Bank of Valletta has opened an EU Representative Office in Brussels aimed at assisting Maltese enterprises tapping into EU centralised funds.

The office, which will be headed by Mark Scicluna Bartoli, will also help to enhance the Bank's working relationship with the European Commission and the European Investment Fund, and the Pan-European associations based in Brussels.

The office is hosted within the headquarters of the European Savings Banks Group, of which BOV has been an active member for the past 10 years.

Present for the launch were BOV Chief Executive Officer Charles Borg and representatives from the Bank's management and Board of Directors among distinguished guests from the European entities, Maltese MEPs and representatives from the Maltese Embassy in Belgium and Malta's permanent representation to the EU.

"As the largest Maltese financial institution - a systematically important bank in our country - we play a key role as a catalyst of economic development in Malta and also a shaper of the Maltese economy," CEO Charles Borg said.

"This places on us considerable responsibility, including that of continuing to make credit available, in a responsible manner, to support the small and medium-sized enterprises that form the backbone of the Maltese economy."

Borg said that BOV plans to participate even more closely in the activities of EU institutions that will allow the bank to present its point of view on how EU funding programmes can be tailored to better support Maltese enterprises and to seek investment opportunities for clients as well as other areas related to training and skills development."

The EU Commission's DG Enterprise & Industry and the European Investment Fund have praised BOV for its success with the JEREMIE programme.  Through JEREMIE, BOV provides beneficial terms and rates for SMEs wishing to invest in new initiatives with the objective of improving their competitiveness.