The organisational restructuring currently underway at the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) after the International Monetary Fund made recommendations as to how it could strengthen its governance and supervision, will improve the Authority's performance, MFSA Chief Executive Officer Joseph Cuschieri told The Malta Independent on Sunday.
The restructuring includes the introduction of an Enforcement Decisions Committee that will focus entirely on ensuring that enforcement decisions recommended by the MFSA's Enforcement Directorate are carried out in a timely and well-considered manner and, most importantly, that there is a system of checks and balances with respect to enforcement action, Cuschieri said.
In response to a number of questions submitted by this newsroom, Cuschieri explained that the new Committee will be independent of the executive leadership team and will consist of individuals who have experience in financial services regulation or legal affairs.
The Authority's new structure - which falls under its Vision 2021 reform plans - will also include a new risk committee, a regulatory committee and a renewed focus on innovation, financial technology (FinTech), regulatory technology and automation, business intelligence and coordination of policy development, Cuschieri said. He added that the regulatory committee will have the remit to coordinate and discuss regulatory, authorisation and supervisory matters.
Cuschieri said that the Risk Committee will be responsible for establishing and maintaining a risk framework for each sector under the MFSA's supervision and to set the risk appetite of the authority on an ongoing basis, before adding that it will essentially act as the monitor for all the risks facing the Authority so that risk mitigation measures are put in place in a "coordinated and structured manner".
The new Financial Crime Compliance unit will oversee governance in this area in conjunction with the FIAU, while a new Anti-Money Laundering Committee will be established to set policy and coordinate all activities within this area and liaise with the FIAU and other local and foreign authorities in the field, he explained.
The MFSA's reform agenda was launched at a press conference late last January, at which Cuschieri detailed the investments that the Authority was making to improve its operational infrastructure.
"The MFSA's Vision 2021 is the start of a transformative journey supported by an ambitious change programme focused on innovation, investment in FinTech and RegTech, the modernisation of supervision, and technological development," he said. "Our reform agenda includes an overhaul in our organisational and governance structures to enable the Authority to meet its future challenges more effectively.
"The Authority's technology plan envisages an investment of approximately €12 million over the coming three to four years", he said, "which will place the MFSA as a role model in respect of the application of cutting-edge technology in financial services supervision."