Bank of Valletta chief executive officer Tonio Depasquale has announced that the board of directors has approved a Community Programme, with an investment of Lm250,000 in the Maltese Community for the year 2006.

“This is the largest single community programme ever to be announced by Bank of Valletta and shows the bank’s resolve to play an active role within the communities in which it operates and to fulfil its corporate social responsibility,” said Mr Depasquale during the launch of the programme.

He explained why the bank had decided to embark on such a large investment through a structured Community Programme and what had motivated the bank’s board of directors to approve the programme.

“As a bank that has its strength in the community, we understand the value of a truly genuine and caring service. We so often know our customers by name and take a personal interest in them. That is the basis on which we have built our relationships. These relationships, based on support and mutuality, together with the loyalty of our stakeholders, have made Bank of Valletta Malta’s largest bank, one of the biggest employers and taxpayers on the island and one of the largest companies listed on the Malta Stock Exchange.”

Mr Depasquale said that in view of this background, the bank was well aware that an organisation of its size, that plays such a key role in the Maltese economy, has an obligation to the wider society that extends beyond the provision of quality financial services to its customers. There are, he said, various ways in which the bank can discharge such an obligation, be it through its attitude to the environment, its support of Malta’s rich heri-tage in the arts and culture, encouraging progressive regulatory reform and the development of financial markets, to adopting practices of good corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.

This, he said, is what has guided the bank in developing its Community Programme that will see it supporting initiatives under various schemes to the tune of Lm250,000 over a period of one year. The programme that is being launched, he said, will see the bank return a quarter of a million liri of its profits to support initiatives that bene-fit the Maltese community at large.

The BOV Community Programme for 2006 is focused on seven well defined areas of activity. It will focus investment in seven distinct areas, namely arts and culture, heritage, the environment, sport, education, the social field and support to the business community.

Mr Depasquale explained that the bank’s investment in the various sections of the community in which it operates is larger than any single community programme undertaken before.

He then gave further details of the seven pillars that make up BOV’s Community Programme for 2006.

It is BOV’s objective to remain the leading patron of arts and culture in Malta. The bank will continue its commitment to organise two retrospective exhibitions during the year and to support the development of Maltese artists and the staging of artistic initiatives.

Heritage will continue to benefit from the bank’s support. The bank is committed to continue supporting the BOV Tarxien Temples project and has pledged an investment of Lm190,000 over a period of 10 years to this World Heritage site. It is hoped that during 2006, interesting developments will be announced regarding this project. The bank will also continue to support the restoration and upgrading of key heri-tage sites and artefacts.

Environment is the third pillar of BOV’s Community Programme for 2006. “In this regard, the bank’s efforts for 2006 will focus on the promotion of afforestation and the general embellishment of public areas through the planting of trees and general upkeep. The bank will also support initiatives that promote environmental awareness. A series of specific initiatives in this direction will be announced in the coming weeks and months,” said Mr Depasquale.

The fourth pillar of the programme focuses on sport. The bank has recently signed a sponsorship agreement with the Malta Football Association whereby it was appointed the official sponsor of the national leagues for the forthcoming three seasons. The bank will also continue to support the BOV Player of the Month competition which is organised by the MFA for players in the BOV Premier League, thus promoting and rewarding excellence among local footballers. Under the sport section of its Community Programme, BOV will also be seeking to support outstanding sporting talent.

The fifth pillar is the social pillar. During 2006, the bank will support established national and philanthropic organisations in the pursuance of identified projects directed at improving the quality of life of people who have social and medical problems. The bank’s focus will be primarily directed at supporting children, young people and the elderly.

The sixth pillar, education, will also feature prominently on the agenda, as BOV will seek to promote educational development that spans the various educational sectors to achieve a balance between the various stages from primary to tertiary education.

Finally, but of equal importance, is the seventh pillar of BOV’s Community Programme under which the bank will continue to be supportive of the operations of business associations and bodies.

“We are convinced that what we are doing sets new standards in terms of corporate social responsibility. We are also convinced that what we are doing positions us as leaders in terms of sound business practice,” Mr Depasquale concluded.

During the press conference, Mr Depasquale was supported by key representatives of each of the pillars that the bank will be supporting as part of its Community Programme for 2006. Maurice Degiorgio, president of Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti and chairman of BOV’s Art Exhibitions Committee represented the arts and culture; Heritage was represented by Pierre Sammut from Heritage Malta; Environment Ministry director Joseph Caruana represented the Environmental pillar; Carmelo Bartolo, vice-president of the MFA, represented the sport section; the social aspect was represented by Anglu Fenech, Administrative Secretary of Caritas and Anthony Borg Cardona, Secretary General of the Chamber of Commerce and Martin Galea, deputy president of the Federation of Industry represented the

Business pillar.