Global Finance magazine has named Bank of Valletta as the Best Bank in Malta for 2007. The magazine said in New York it had named the “Best Emerging Market Banks in Central and Eastern Europe” and these would be featured in an exclusive survey to be published in the May 2007 issue.

“We are delighted to be named the Best Bank in Malta for 2007 by Global Finance,” said Bank of Valletta chief executive officer Tonio Depasquale, soon after he had been informed by Joseph D. Giarraputo, president and publisher of Global Finance, that BOV had won the Malta award.

“This award is significant and adds to the series of successes that Bank of Valletta has been registering,” said Mr Depasquale. “We have been voted Bank of the Year by The Banker for the past two years and now we have also been confirmed, for the second consecutive year, as the Best Bank in Malta by Global Finance,” he said.

This is also the fourth time in the past seven years that BOV has won the Global Finance Best Bank award – a significant achievement considering the nature of the competition in the financial services market in Malta.

The criteria for choosing the winners in the various countries from central and eastern Europe included growth in assets, profitability, strategic relationships, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative products. The winners include prestigious names such as RZB, BRD-Groupe Société Générale and Raiffeisen International.