MFSA Chairman Joe Bannister will serve as government adviser after he steps down from his role as head of the MFSA on 31 March, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has announced.

The Prime Minister was delivering a speech during the Malta Business Network Lunch at Xara Lodge.

Bannister will be replaced by Professor John Mamo, who will serve as the non-Executive Chairman, with a new CEO role being created. The CEO will be selected by the new board after Bannister steps down from the role.

Mamo will be the first chairman to be scrutinised by parliament as according to the new Public Administration Act.

Professor Mamo obtained a Doctor of Law at the University of Malta in 1971 and has since been an active practitioner specialising in the field of commercial law. He is the founder of John Mamo and Associates, today merged into MamoTCV.

Throughout the years, Professor Mamo has served on the boards of several companies in Malta and abroad as director or chairperson. He also served as Head of Department of Commercial Law and was appointed Commissioner of Data Protection in 2002. 

Bannister has courted controversy over the last year with critics arguing that the MFSA has failed to act when it came to the serious allegations against Pilatus Bank and Nexia BT.

He also saw links in the Paradise Papers, after it was revealed that he held a directorship in a company based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in 2007.

Speaking to The Malta Independent last November, Bannister said "that [his] involvement with investment companies had been declared with both prime ministers. Today I am no longer a director of anything," he said while adding that it had been cleared by the European Authorities.

He stressed, however, that he believes it was only the regulator (MFSA) who knew the details as to his role in the investment funds etc.

Asked whether he sees a conflict of interest or not, he had said: "today I am not a director of anything. When I was a director the arrangement was that these funds never invest in Malta. They were completely outside Malta."

Bannister said that he was retiring from the MFSA due to personal reasons and could not afford to dedicate as much time to the role.

Muscat, who said that the financial services sector was under threat by elements within the political sphere, praised Bannister's commitment and 'sterling' performance.

He praised the government's pro-business attitude and ability to strengthen economic sectors as key contributors to the economic growth the country has seen over the last few years.

On Brexit, Muscat said the government will take an "amicable and not predatory" approach to seeking new investment opportunities, with a stress of co-location rather than relocation.

Joseph Zammit Tabona, who chairs the newly set up Malta-UK Business Promotion Taskforce, spoke at the event and claimed that EU member states are jealous of Maltese economic growth and was the fuel behind the recent scrutiny of the country's tax system.

He also said that he believed the economy would continue to grow for the next three years and beyond; and that 'bad publicity' was the only thing concerning its stability.

"We need to ensure we all abide by rules and regulations, there is enough work out there for everyone to benefit," he said.

Embattled Nexia BT owners Karl Cini and Brian Tonma were also in attendance at the lunch. The pair still find themselves embroiled in controversy after opening up offshore bank accounts to PEPs, specifically Minister Konrad Mizzi and the PM's chief of staff Keith Schembri, both of whom were also at the event.

Deputy PM Chris Fearne, Ministers Edward Scicluna and Chris Cardona, and Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri were the other cabinet members at the lunch.

PN statement

The PN in a statement said it agrees with the appointment of John Mamo as Chairman of the MFSA, and said that it trusts in his abilities.

The PN said that it will work with government to strengthen the financial sector.