The sudden death of Joe GP Bonello has shocked those who knew him in the financial services sector.
He was a pioneer in Malta’s financial services and right until the end he exhibited the same energy and enthusiasm that led him, a youth, to quit the National Bank and set up his own company, the first company in Malta’s financial sector. He was also a founder of the Malta Stock Exchange.
In an interview he gave some time ago, he explained how as a youth he got his love of financial news and grew to appreciate following stocks and shares on the foreign papers.
He was later to see Malta’s financial services sector grow beyond the wildest expectations of people so many years ago with so many companies setting up shop, so many people employed and managing and handling vast amounts of money.
Over the years, Joe became a beacon of uprightness, standing up for honesty in all dealings with clients and between financial intermediaries. He often spoke out to insist on ethics in all aspects of financial services.
His advice was not always followed and over the years many people have been badly bitten by inconsiderate advice by those who should have known better.
Of course, there are other worthy and upright persons in Malta’s financial services sector besides Joe and these, few or many as they may be, have stood firm time and time again when others went for the quick buck and then rode roughshod over the victims.
Malta’s financial services sector has become a robust one and has withstood the dark years of the international crisis. Malta’s legislation has received a bi-partisan support in Malta’s parliament and this is one of the main factors behind its enduring success.
It has grown slowly and bit by bit, without any big bang. Over the past years it has seen its growth reach exponential figures so that it has come to be noticed, and, (surely the mark of respect) it has attracted negative comments that have been proved, time and again, to be the wrong perceptions.
To his clients, Joe was the perfect gentleman, giving out advice and helping people go for the long- or medium-term gain rather than the short-term gain. In his quiet ways he taught many people to think strategically about money and investments. Unfortunately, even to this day, this subject is not taught in schools and many have to learn it later on in life and usually after some mishap.
It was impressive to read some of the tributes that have been written on the social media from ordinary people from all walks of life who must have encountered Joe as they tried to structure their well-earned investments. If only there were more people like him.
Joe spoke about, and lived by, ethical standards. In today’s post-Catholic Malta, religion has been swept away and with it, ethics. This is a huge pity and carries enormous consequences for our future. While in today’s advanced culture and multicultural environment, religious belief and observance are changing, and each person must find the belief that attracts his life-long commitment, the country, the people, however, cannot progress without ethical standards. Those standards, in fact, that Joe was such a shining example of.