The Malta Bankers’ Association annual general meeting earlier this month elected Shaun Wallis as chairman of the board of the association for the coming year. The other board members are Mark Bailey, Edward Cachia, Muge Cergel, Tonio Depasquale, Ahmet Fesci, Andrew Mifsud, Victor Rizzo Guisti and Joseph Said.

Ray Briffa will act as chairman of the commercial banks’ executive committee, and Andrew Mifsud will chair the other banks’ executive committee.

James Bonello, secretary general, will continue to head the secretariat.

The following banks which are licensed to operate in Malta are members of the association: Akbank T.A.S., APS Bank Ltd, Bank of Valletta plc, BAWAG Malta Bank Ltd, CommBank Europe Ltd, Erste Bank(Malta) Ltd, FIMBank plc, Finansbank (Malta) Ltd, Fortis Bank Malta Ltd, HSBC Bank Malta plc, InvestKredit International Bank plc, Izola Bank Ltd, Lombard Bank Malta plc, Mediterranean Bank plc, Raiffeisen Malta Bank plc, Sparkasse Bank Malta plc, Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S. and Volksbank Malta Ltd.

The combined balance sheet total of the association’s member banks exceeds Lm13 billion, while the number of their full-time employees is around 3,500. The direct contribution of the banking sector to the local economy remains significant, with the payroll last year amounting to Lm40 million, taxation on profit on ordinary activities reaching Lm36 million, and dividends paid to resident shareholders amounting to over Lm16 million.