The coveted award for Branch of the Year 2017 went to the team of Republic Street, Valletta. BOV Zurrieq and BOV Gozo were the two runner-ups.

This was announced by Kenneth Farrugia, chief Business Development officer last week, during an impromptu visit to the branch, immediately after the judging panel reached its verdict. He was accompanied by Peter Perotti, chief Retail Banking officer and Geoffrey Ghigo, head Retail Network. They presented the trophy to Charles Grech Soler, who heads the branch and the rest of the team.

While congratulating the winning team, Perotti highlighted the high standard among all nominated branches, with a very narrow margin among the top placing branches. "This annual award recognises the outstanding performance of the winning branch from among the bank's retail network that spans 37 branches and four agencies across Malta and Gozo. BOV Republic Street has distinguished itself for its excellent customer service as well as the team's attention to detail, both of which yield the added value we seek to build into the customer experience."

The BOV Republic Street Branch was also at the forefront in taking initiatives that promoted team-building as well as corporate responsibility within their community.

Endorsing Perotti's message, Farrugia highlighted the critical role played by the bank's retail network in nourishing a healthy two-way communication between the bank and its customers. "Digitalisation features prominently on the bank's strategy and to this effect last Sunday we upgraded the bank's Internet Banking system. However, we see self-service banking channels as complementary to the bank's physical branches and centres through which we engage with our customers. Customer-centricity remains at the heart of all the bank's channels, both physical and digital."

Farrugia concluded his intervention by thanking all branches for their commitment and hard work towards extending a quality level of service to the bank's customers.