Noel Grima
After the presentation of the banks' figures by the chairman, during question time this paper asked Mr Cassar White to clarify on certain issues which had been raised in the media over the past months and about which the bank had remained silent throughout.
Valletta Fund Management
Although the bulk of investors in the property fund of VFM which had run into difficulties have settled their issues with the bank, Mr Cassar White said, some clients who had particular issues are renegotiating their agreement with the bank.
The bank keeps close contact with the MFSA in all that it does in order to ensure that this is done legally and binding on all sides.
It would be good if a similar mechanism is found to regulate similar issues if they crop up in the future.
Libyan money at the bank
Anything that relates to Muammar Gaddafi's time and money is regulated by the United Nations.
Furthermore, the UN recognises only one government in Libya and any decision regarding funds that may pertain to the government of Libya is regulated by the UN.
The attitude is that being followed by the Maltese government.
Promotions exercise
The promotions exercise was a very important exercise undertaken soon after the new Board took office to ensure the bank functioned as it should.
First, the new Board commissioned a report on the working of the bank's top management. The exercise also compared the internal workings of similar banks both in Malta and abroad. In general terms, the report found that the bank's top management was slow to act and pedantic in its general approach. The bank was also top-heavy both in its structures and in its approach. The upshot of the report was to simplify the bank's top levels with an executive committee at the very top composed of four or five elements. This is a more rational way of going about things.
The bank today has added responsibilities: it was chosen by the ECB for asset quality review because it is a strategically significant bank in Malta. This, and past mistakes, mean it cannot rest on its laurels and the Board can never just rubberstamp decisions taken by intermediate executives. On the contrary, Board members must oversee what is done at an executive level. It is true there have been some resignations, the chairman said, but this is a free market.
This reform, he feels, has strengthened the bank.
As regards the dividend, the chairman said the bank has decided not to go along what used to be -the procedure - of one-third going to the government as taxes, one-third to the shareholders and one-third to the reserves because it had been given advice not to continue doing so by the Regulator.
Italian court case
At the beginning of the meeting, the BOV chairman referred to the Italian court case, requesting the bank to pay €363m equivalent to the value of shares of a company which had been settled on trust with the bank as a trustee in 2009.
He said that in 2012, the trust began going through troubles and the Italian authorities took steps against the beneficiaries and settlers of the trusts, however the bank was not involved in the case until last year.
"We were notified about the case mid-December last year," he said. He stated that lawyers were immediately hired to defend the banks' interests. These lawyers had a large number of documents to go through and he stressed that all regulators were informed.
He also stressed that the auditors of the bank also wanted to examine the documents. The Board of Directors then discussed the case and on 2 April, the company announcement was made.
He said that it is the bank's commitment to inform the market of what is going on, adding that the decision to release the announcement in Good Friday did not represent the bank's intention to hide the information given that no newspaper is released on that day. "Many people read their news online and comments on the story were posted immediately."