Bank of Valletta was invited by the European Commission and the European Investment Fund to share its positive EU funding experience as a financial institution under the Joint Action to Support Microfinance Institutions – better known as JASMINE.

The JASMINE programme, launched in 2008, provides technical assistance to EU financial institutions and microfinance organisations and is financed by the European Commission and the European Investment Fund. 

Under the JASMINE programme, Bank of Valletta was rated A- with a stable outlook after its operations were scrutinised by a specialised rating agency positioning Bank of Valletta within the top 5 per cent of the financial institutions the rating agency deals with.  The JASMINE programme also enhanced the Banks internal capacity to provide access to finance for start-up operations and micro enterprises.

“The exchange of lessons learnt with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank prove to be an excellent opportunity towards enhancing upcoming EU funding programmes under the 2014 – 2020 funding period,” said Mark Scicluna Bartoli, Head – EU Business Development.

“The knowledge generated through the EU funded JASMINE programme complemented the successful implementation of the Bank of Valletta JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) EU funded guarantee scheme where 40% of the assisted enterprises are start up companies,” said Albert Frendo, Chief Officer Credit.