Some 700 local shareholders attended HSBC Bank Malta’s annual general meeting for 2007, held in the Grandmasters’ Suite of The Hilton Portomaso.

A corporate video on HSBC Malta’s business developments and corporate responsibility activities over the past year kicked off the meeting. The chief financial officer gave a presentation on the record financial performance of HSBC in 2006, and advised that performance year to date was also satisfactory.

The AGM re-elected Victor Scicluna, Peter Paul Testaferrata Moroni Viani and Sonny Portelli to the board of directors. The directors appointed by the majority shareholder HSBC Bank plc were Albert Mizzi as chairman, Shaun Wallis (chief executive officer), Sally Robson (chief operating officer), Philip Farrugia Randon, Charles J Farrugia and David Budd.

The shareholders approved all five ordinary resolutions and one extraordinary resolution presented during the meeting. The audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2006 were approved. A final gross dividend of 10.6 cents per share was approved and KPMG were re-appointed as auditors. The extraordinary resolution regarding changes to the memorandum and articles of association was also passed by a vote cast by the shareholders present and represented at the meeting.

“We are pleased to see so much participation and interest on behalf of our shareholders, year after year,” said Mr Wallis. “We are always pleased to answer their questions and to get to talk to them informally,” he added.