At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Malta Bankers’ Association, Joaquim Silva Pinto was elected as Chairman of the Board of the Association for the coming year. The other Board members are Edward Cachia, Marcel Cassar, Tonio Depasquale, Alan Richards, Victor Rizzo Giusti, Joseph Said and Henry Schmeltzer.

The combined balance sheet total of the Association’s member banks as at the end of 2010 reached €50 billion (up from €40 billion the previous year), whilst total equity stood at over € 9 billion. The number of their full time employees was 3,875. The direct contribution of the banking sector to the local economy remains significant, with payroll last year amounting to € 114 million, taxation on profit on ordinary activities reaching €113 million, and dividends paid to resident shareholders amounting to over €64 million. Loans and advances to customers totalled €20 billion, with amounts owed to customers standing at €21 billion.

Mr Silva Pinto welcomed the continued steady growth of the Maltese banking sector, noting that the number of banks carrying on business in Malta had increased to 25 from 16 in 2004, when Malta joined the European Union.

The MBA Chairman added: “Maltese banks have proved to be resilient in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and have maintained high levels of capital and liquidity during 2010. It is gratifying to record, in this context, that Malta was ranked 10th – up from 13th place - for the soundness of its banks by the World Economic Forum in its Global Competitiveness Report for 2010-2011”.