Banif Bank appoints new CEO

Michael Anthony Collis has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Banif Bank with effect from 23 August 2017. Collis succeeds Joaquim Francisco Silva Pinto who retired from the Bank on the same date.

Collis has extensive banking experience having worked in the banking industry in the UK and Middle East in excess of thirty years. During this time he served on a number of bank boards and held senior positions in a number of banks with responsibility for a wide variety of activities including retail and wholesale banking, corporate finance and private banking.

He has served as CEO and Executive Director of Ahli United Bank (UK) Limited, a UK licensed bank regulated by the FSA. He also served as Senior Deputy Group CEO of Ahli United Bank B.S.C. (Bahrain). Prior to that he served as executive director and head of European corporate finance at Nikko Bank, a UK licensed bank regulated by the FSA. He originally started his banking career with Lloyds Bank plc and subsequently joined Mizuho Bank where he held various senior positions and headed the bank’s UK corporate banking and corporate finance activities for over ten years.

Prior to this latest appointment, Collis served as Chief Executive Officer of Al Faisal International for Investment QPSC (Qatar), the ultimate majority shareholder of the Bank, a position which he has since relinquished. He had occupied this position since 2015 during which time he was also responsible for AFII’s proprietary trading and strategic financial investments, including the acquisition of Banif Bank (Malta) plc in 2016.

Commenting on the appointment of Collis on behalf of the Board, the Chairman, Michael Frendo said: “The Board is delighted to welcome Mr. Michael Collis as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank. We believe that Mr. Collis has the appropriate leadership skills and experience to take the Bank forward strategically. In particular, Mr. Collis understands the retail and commercial banking industry well given his previous experience, and he also knows the Bank well, having served as a non-executive director on the Board of the Bank, as well as a member of the Risk and Compensation Committees of the Bank since October 2016. The Board and I look forward to working with him to ensure the continued success of the Bank into the next phases of its development.”

Commenting on his appointment, Collis said: “It is an honour to be invited by the Board to lead and steer the Bank. I look forward to working with the Board, management and staff to take the Bank forward strategically in order to realise its full potential and ambitions.”

Commenting on Silva Pinto’s tenure as Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman of the Bank said: “Mr. Silva Pinto has served as CEO of the Bank since its establishment in 2007 and has been a kingpin in the Bank’s growth into an important player in the Maltese banking sector. On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our sincere appreciation for his years of dedication and service to the Bank and its success. We wish him well for the future.”