Updated | BOV faces €363 million claim in Italy court, Herrera: ‘no cause for alarm’

Bank of Valletta has announced that legal proceedings have been instituted against it before an Italian Court, two years since the case was filed.

The bank is being requested to pay an amount equivalent to the value of the shares of a company which had been settled on trust with the bank as trustee in 2009, which value plaintiffs have alleged to €363 million.

“An in-depth analysis of the claim, of the documents presented to date by the plaintiffs and of the documents held by the bank, was carried out. On the basis of this analysis, the bank has received a legal opinion clearly stating that there is no basis at law for the claim being made before the Italian Court and that the bank should reject the claim against it as completely unfounded,” Bank of Valletta said.

In a comment to MaltaToday, parliamentary secretary for comptitiveness José Herrera, said that there was no alarm to be taken. "The bank has engaged top lawyers in Malta and Italy and the advice they gave the bank is that the case is a long shot and the odds are very much in favour of BOV," he said. "That is why the bank has not felt the need to make any provision for an eventual loss."

The government owns close to 25% of BOV, and appoints its chairman.

Asked why a company announcement had taken so long to be issued by the bank, Herrera told MaltaToday that the case had originally been lodged against an Italian family called into the case. "BOV was only recently involved in the case," Herrera said.

The BOV’s board of directors have resolved to reject the claims made against it and has also decided that in the circumstances there is no justifiable reason for the bank to make any provisions against the claim.

“The Board of Directors will carefully monitor these proceedings and will keep the market informed in the event of any significant development.”