The official re-launch of the newly acquired Mediterranean Bank plc, a Malta-based private bank, was celebrated recently with a reception held at St John’s Cavalier, the embassy of the Sovereign Order of St John, in Valletta.
Mediterranean Bank was acquired in July of this year by AnaCap Financial Partners, the European private equity firm that specialises in the financial services sector. It was founded in 2005 to serve Maltese and international high net worth individuals. Since acquiring the bank, AnaCap has begun the process of improving its operational performance, building up its capabilities in analytics, information and risk management and adding to its capital.
The bank has appointed Francis J. Vassallo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Malta, as its new chairman and Mark Watson, a former co-head of Global Credit Markets of Citigroup, as its new CEO. AnaCap says that the appointment of two such senior and respected bankers is a major step forward in its plans to expand Mediterranean Bank’s private wealth management operations.
As governor of the Central Bank of Malta (1993-1997), Mr Vassallo was responsible for bringing the regulation of the Maltese financial services sector into line with EU standards. As part of this process, he was a co-founder of the board of governors of the Malta Financial Services Authority. Prior to this, he held senior positions with Chase Manhattan Bank. Mr Vassallo is also a former chairman of the Malta Development Corporation (1990-2000) and of BAWAG Bank Malta.
Mr Watson spent 22 years with Citigroup/Salomon Brothers, where he became co-head of Global Credit Markets. He was instrumental in helping establish Citigroup’s fixed-income division as one of the most successful teams in that market. Previously he was chosen as one of the Top 100 most important bankers in the UK by a national newspaper.
AnaCap principal Chris Patrick remarked: “Both Francis Vassallo and Mark Watson have tremendous track records achieved at the very highest levels in banking. We’re extremely pleased that they will be bringing their expertise and leadership to Mediterranean Bank.
“Clearly, Francis has unique expertise in the Maltese financial services sector and Mark’s outstanding success at building and managing successful and profitable teams has won him countless awards throughout his whole career.”
AnaCap says that Malta is an increasingly attractive investment destination for private banking, with its competitive tax regime and its OECD status as an onshore location with a strong financial regulatory model.
As Malta is an EU member with a euro-denominated currency, banks in this jurisdiction fall under the European Central Bank’s remit.
Mediterranean Bank (www.medbank.com.mt) is located in St Barbara’s Bastion, Valletta.