Volksbank Malta just announced that Werner Wess, Director of the Executive Board of the bank, has been confirmed in his position for another three years.

Mr Wess, born in April 1940, was the Group Chief Financial Controller of Österreichische Volksbanken AG in Vienna until his retirement on 31 December, 2004 and is well known for his expertise in tax matters. He is also the person whose idea it was to open a Volksbank branch in Malta.

“Volksbank Malta was originally set up as an offshore bank,” Mr. Wess explained. “The bank was registered on 1st September 1995 as a subsidiary of Österreichische Volksbanken AG, with two Maltese directors, Godwin Muscat Azzopardi as chairman and the late Tony Galdes, together with three Austrian directors – Wolfgang Perdich, Alexander Luschin and myself.”

Starting out at a small office in Valletta, Volksbank moved to its current location in Sliema in July 1997, where the bank took over two floors of a building in Dingli Street.

“During the following years, the bank grew steadily – financial figures were increasing, we employed more staff and took over another two levels of the building”, Mr. Wess still plays a very active part in the Volksbank Group: besides his position of Director of the Executive Board of Volksbank Malta, he is also the Chairman of the Audit Committee, a position he also holds in the sister banks Volksbank BH d.d. in Bosnia and Elektron Bank in the Ukraine. Additionally, Mr Wess is actively involved in the companies Mithra Holding and VB Holding.

Today, Volksbank Malta has more than 30 employees and a balance sheet sum of over 1 billion euros. The bank is still located in Dingli Street, now occupying the whole building, which was recently refurbished to high standards.