The government, in agreement with the Opposition, has agreed on certain mechanisms in order to protect the company and individual deposits in banks, should the banks encounter severe problems, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said.

Professor Scicluna inaugurated the Mediterranean Corporate Bank,  “Malta’s first specialist corporate bank”, this morning at the bank’s headquarters’ in Sliema.

This mechanism would allow, as a last resort, for government to jump above the ceiling regarding the amount of money government can lend, in specific instances where banks encounter severe trouble, in order to protect peoples’ deposits.

This will be in place until the resolution fund is established and has enough money to bailout banks should it be needed. This fund will be paid for by the banks, who will give a portion of their funds each year.

Mediterranean Corporate Bank CEO Mark Watson said; The creation of this bank represents another important milestone in the development of Mediteranean Bank Group. Over the past five years we have extended our client offerings and broadened our market penetration through a highly focused approach that has differentiated us locally”.

Present at the unveiling was PN MP TonioFenech, Central Bank officials and MFSA representatives.

 

Currently the bank has 2.5 billion euros in assets.