Yesterday, Malta celebrated a national day, officially termed Jum il Helsien, though some prefer to consider it the day when the lease of military facilities extended to Great Britain ended.

As a nation we Maltese excel in polarising ourselves on most issues, no matter how irrelevant.

This year however, many financial services practitioners who also take their profession seriously were united in considering 31 March as a veritable Jum il Helsien, as the sector was liberated of a regulator who had been at the head of the financial services sector for far too many years.

Until 31 March 2018, Professor Joseph Bannister had been heading the Malta Financial Services Authority and its predecessor almost uninterruptedly for decades. For quite some time he had led the regulatory side as well and was closely involved in the promotion of Malta as a financial services centre. To some this was considered a conflict situation, much like a gamekeeper who is also a poacher. A few years back rumour had it that consideration was also being given to incorporate the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) within the MFSA's domain. By some stroke of luck, this did not materialise, as that would have truly put the cherry on the cake.

Presumably, supranational institutions such as the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund or the European Banking Authority did not allow the regulation of the financial services sector to be close to its promotion. But the Professor is an old hand at managing and ducking tricky situations. He can deftly play the absent-minded boffin who manages to get away with a nod, a wink or a nudge. He is indeed a past master at the time-tested words of reassurance 'halli f'idejja, issa nara jien'. (Leave it to me, I'll look into it.)

For many years and with only a minor exception, he survived all political bosses, be they red, blue, good, bad or ugly. Unfortunately, he easily impresses those politicians who lack a thorough knowledge of issues such as the regulation and ethics of financial services. In such situations, the Professor baffles them with his brilliance and rules the stage. In fact, he has weathered the most scathing criticism even when this came from major exponents of either major political party. Over the many years that he has ruled the roost at MFSA, he has built a network of contacts, which he plugs into as necessary. When asked for advice or assistance by the good or the bad he'll respond with his hallmark reassuring reply "halli f'idejja".

He relinquished his official MFSA post leaving it holding a set of glorious trophies including among others, Falcon Funds Sicav plc; PDK Financial Services Limited; GlobalCapital Financial Management Limited; Nemea Bank plc; Maltese Cross Financial Services Ltd and now, crowning the list, will be Pilatus Bank plc. Unfortunately, this may result to be a legacy that stands to outweigh the good that has been brought about in these last 20 years. Professor Bannister has officially given up the chair of the MFSA, but knowing his skills, he will still be around working quietly and enjoying political patronage.

Around mid-March, this newspaper gave an insight into GlobalCapital plc, a local financial services institution which is listed on the Malta Stock Exchange and which, since the introduction of the Financial Services Arbiter, has been ordered to pay thousands upon thousands of euros as compensation to investors in respect of breaches of financial services regulations and guidelines. The other week GlobalCapital issued a company announcement in connection with a bid that it allegedly made for a substantial shareholding in Lombard Bank. A few days later GlobalCapital was instructed to clarify its first company announcement with the issue of a second announcement effectively taking back much of what it said in its first announcement.

On 21 March, GlobalCapital released yet another company announcement this time informing the public that its bid for the Lombard Bank shares was no longer in place and that it now intended to collect money from investors by way of a rights issue and also by an increase in its capital. Global Capital plc, which is headed by Professore Paolo Catalfamo, in its company announcement declared that the money it will try to raise from the Malta market is intended to help it enter overseas markets and also to increase its working capital.

So, we are now being told that GlobalCapital needs further working capital to continue running its business yet only a few days before it claimed that it could, with others, put together circa €50 million to buy a shareholding in Lombard Bank. What is this all about? Will the authorities please insist that GlobalCapital makes transparent announcements to the Maltese investing public and to its shareholders? 

GlobalCapital's first announcement was hazy to such an extent that the company was made to issue a second announcement clarifying or correcting the first one. Catalfamo sought to explain this away by merely saying that the first announcement was issued prematurely. The investing public insists on knowing the truth about GlobalCapital's announcements. If GlobalCapital lied, then it should declare it in no uncertain terms, and whoever was responsible for the announcements should be brought to account. Catalfamo must not be allowed to dismiss the Maltese public by simply saying that the first announcement had been issued prematurely. Unless the company he runs gives a full explanation and sequence of events, the public will be left with no option other than to conclude that the first announcement was nothing but a lie. The investing public has now heard enough professorial waffle and demands clarity and sincerity at all times. The financial services sector has no room for lies.

In the first quarter of this year, GlobalCapital lost its Chief Executive Officer and then a Company Announcement dated 28 March stated that its Chief Financial Officer would be stepping down on 4 May. Does not Global Capital's majority shareholder and executive chairman, Professore Catalfamo, need to explain the underlying reasons for these resignations to the small shareholders and possibly also to the regulator?

One augurs that the new guard at MFSA will sweep the place clean of any inept cronies that may have taken over sections of this important entity. MFSA has a good number of upright and competent professionals some of whom were not allowed to flourish professionally as they were sidestepped or ignored to make way for sycophants who stood to serve one master.

Both major parties agree that the financial services industry is a pillar of our economy. Both parties should now ensure that the regulatory bodies of Malta are run and seen to be run professionally and allowed to conduct supervision of financial institutions without fear or favour.