Bank of Valletta shareholders approve dividend and bonus issue

Bank of Valletta shareholders on Wednesday approved a gross final dividend of €0.13 per share, which represents a gross payment of €35.1 million for the financial year ending 30 September, 2012.

This was the first Bank of Valletta AGM for both Chairman Frederick Mifsud Bonnici and Chief Executive Officer Charles Borg.

They explained the macroeconomic context in which the Bank operated during the financial year, as well as giving a breakdown of what led to the €110.7 million pre-tax profit made by the Bank.

Mifsud Bonnici gave an overview of the international economic situation in which he noted that the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund had, since earlier this year, all revised downwards their growth forecasts for the coming year. He noted that following a short recession, economic growth in Malta recovered moderately in 2012, noting that while there had been a marked contraction in construction, other sectors like specialised manufacturing, tourism, health, recreation and professional services had seen increased activity.

Borg highlighted a number of the operational achievements of the Bank - including its launch of mobile banking. Borg explained why the bank was a "shaper" of the Maltese economy, and a catalyst for its growth - mainly because, as in previous years, it remained committed to support the Maltese economy in a responsible manner

He noted that the growth in deposits and take-up of the bank's products and services showed the trust that Bank of Valletta enjoyed in the community.

A number of resolutions relating to share capital and directors' remuneration in addition to the standard statutory resolutions were approved during the AGM, held at the Hilton Hotel.

Shareholders attending AGM elected as directors Joseph Borg, Ann Fenech, George Portanier, Paul Testaferrata Moroni Viani, George Wells, and Franco Xuereb.

Chairman Frederick Mifsud Bonnici and Gordon Cordina were appointed by the Government until the 2013 AGM, while Roberto Cassata was appointed by UniCredit until the 2015 AGM.