KPMG, PWC, and Deloitte have all expressed concern on the financial services industry and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s ability to defend the country’s international reputation in light of the recent allegations plaguing his administration, PN President Ann Fenech told The Malta Independent.

Dr Fenech claimed that there were no dissenting voices on the subject during a meeting between the Nationalist Party and 150 leading practitioners within the financial services sector. These included the big four: EY, KPMG, PWC, and Deloitte.

Dr Fenech said the meeting was held to show the sector that the PN, which had given birth to the financial services sector, fully supported the industry at this difficult juncture, and is determined to fix the country’s reputation before it is too late.

She claimed that the group was in full support of Simon Busuttil’s proposals for the sector, in particular his pledge to establish a high-level expert group in the field in order to provide consultation on the industry to the Prime Minister.

The PN president said that the major concern for the sector is primarily a reputational one, which the representatives said began the minute the Prime Minister failed to take the right action regarding his chief of staff Keith Schembri and Minister without Portfolio Konrad Mizzi in the Panama Papers scandal.

The practitioners said that this inaction allowed Malta to be placed unnecessarily under the spotlight. “The businesses have worked tooth and nail to get where we are now. They have invested heavily in human resources and participated in international fora to be respected globally.”

Under normal conditions, she said, there would already be enormous competitive pressure between Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg and Ireland. “The country created a robust legal framework, with a high quality product that is completely EU compatible and approved.”

Dr Fenech said that the representatives expressed concerning the number of existing high quality clients informing them to limit their activity until after the election, and a number of new clients halting their progress.

She repeated that the Malta Files reports were incorrect in claiming that the country was a tax haven, held offshore structures, and used closed registers.

The PN President said that the representatives insisted that the country needed somebody who can go out in the international fora who can defend Malta.

“They said it point blank, that it cannot be the current Prime Minister, who has done nothing in a year and half, were the rule of law has collapsed. These companies have assured these big international players that the country has political stability and that the institutions work on par to a European Level. How can we say that when we have a police commissioner who ignored FIAU reports that recommended criminal action against the PM’s chief of staff?”

Dr Fenech also claimed that the big four, meaning EY, PWC, KPMG, and Deloitte, said that they would probably need to restructure their entire human resource strategy and potentially lay-off some employees if should Joseph Muscat gets re-elected and the financial services sector keeps going through this level of uncertainty.

“They made it clear that the sector is essential to the survival of our economy; that it does not just support 22,000 employees, but is a pillar to the rental market, and to the entire service industry.”

Update

Dr Fenech, who chaired the meeting, stated that the comments reproduced in this article were not attributable specifically to the big four auditing firms three of which were represented at the meeting but were in fact the general conclusions drawn from the meeting.