An audience of over 120 leading figures from the City of London crowded into The London Stock Exchange earlier this month to hear about the country’s growing strength as an international finance centre.

The editor-in- chief of The Banker magazine, Stephen Timewell, chaired the event, which was organised by the business publishing division of The Financial Times.

The Malta Financial Services Authority, Bank of Valletta and HSBC Malta were the principle sponsors of the conference titled “Opportunities and Challenges for Inward Investment”. Much of the focus of the day was on how the finance industry has progressed since the country’s accession to the EU.

Delegates from numerous branches of London’s finance industry and from top advisory firms heard first from Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech, who outlined the key factors that have driven Malta’s recent development as a finance jurisdiction, including political and economic stability, cross-party political consensus and long-term investment in education.

Other speakers included Central Bank Governor Michael Bonello, MFSA chairman Joe Bannister, Bank of Valletta chairman Roderick Chalmers, HSBC Malta chief executive Shaun Wallace, Mediterranean Bank Chief Executive Frederic Villa, Dr Max Ganado of legal firm J M Ganado & Associates and Peter Astelford from the international law firm Dechert LLP.

Speaking after the conference Mr Fenech said, “This was a very valuable event in terms of spreading the word about Malta to very influential decision makers and increasing our network of contacts. We met people who are seriously considering opening for business in Malta or working with local companies. What was clear is that Malta is now firmly in many minds as a wholly viable financial services centre with its own unique advantages, and that’s exactly how we want to be positioned.”