Private Banking

Malta’s robust banking sector has attracted international attention as a secure location to manage wealth. The country’s banking infrastructure caters for all levels of wealth from the mass affluent to the ultra high-net-worth individual, requiring the more personalised services of a private banker.

Ranked 10th for soundest banking system out of 144 economies by The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015, Malta has become synonymous with good governance and security.

Malta takes a prudent and conservative approach to managing its banks, and the sector has developed significantly over the last 15 years – from four retail banks serving the local population to an EU-compliant industry sector of world-class sophistication with 27 credit institutions.

Truly international, Malta hosts banking institutions from countries such as Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Cyprus, Finland, Italy, Kuwait, Switzerland, and the UK, who have set up operations in Malta.

Sound and Conservative

The country’s banks suffered no systemic shocks or failures during the financial crisis, and the sector has continued to be at the top of the list of safe international banking jurisdictions. Its deep-rooted conservative approach to banking has supported the stability of the sector. Bank funding in Malta depends on retail deposits, not wholesale borrowing, and has over the years stuck to the conventional banking approach, based on old fashioned intermediation between retail depositors and borrowers. Maltese banks do not rely on wholesale funding to support lending and maintain substantial liquidity and adequate capital ratios based on prudent lending policies.

Private Banks

Malta’s key location at the centre of the Mediterranean has made it one of the top locations for wealth management services and family offices from Europe, North Africa and increasingly from the Middle East.

Specialist wealth managers such as Mediterranean Bank are offering Swiss-style private wealth management, while foreign banks such as Akbank T.A.S., Sparkasse and BAWAG all offer management solutions. In addition, retail banks such as Bank of Valletta and HSBC also provide professional financial advice and products to high-net-worth, corporate and institutional clients.

Investment Banking

Malta banks are well placed to serve the growing fund sector. With more than 580 funds already licensed by the MFSA, the country’s banks have a strong track record in setting up and managing different investment vehicles for institutional and individual investors ranging from mutual and real estate funds to pension funds, as well as other investment and financing products and services, such as M&A advisory, equity and debt capital markets and the provision of tailor-made discretionary portfolio management services.

Custody service providers, among them Custom House, Sparkasse Bank, and Bank of Valletta, are present on the Island. In addition to the banks, a number of investment management companies provide services to investors and have strong relationships with international custodians.

4 Benefits of Banking in Malta

• Secure location for savings and assets
• Over 70 double taxation treaties
• The country’s banking sector has been judged the 10th soundest in the world
• Diverse industry providing a wide range of services, including custodian banking, trade and project finance as well as specialist wealth management services