The solid reputation Malta built in the financial services sector is under threat because of what the government is doing, Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia said on Tuesday.

This is not the fault of the workers employed in the sector, but it’s happening because the government is giving no importance to sustain the good image Malta managed to build over the years, he told supporters in Balzan.

Nationalist governments worked hard to introduce and sustain the sector which employs thousands, giving Malta an excellent reputation in the field via a series of laws and regulations. But now there is a risk that this will all be lost because of what the government is doing.

Only recently, in comments he gave to The Telegraph, Minister Edward Scicluna had downplayed the problems by saying that all countries have to deal with money laundering issues.

If Scicluna does not care about Malta’s reputation, the thousands employed in the sector do, Delia said. The sector depends on three columns – the skills of the workers, a regulatory base and Malta’s reputation. The skills are there, the regulatory base is solid but the country’s image is under threat because the government itself is working against it.

What Scicluna said was irresponsible, and added to this the number of political scandals related to the financial sector keeps growing, Delia said.

He pledged the PN’s commitment in safeguarding the workers’ interests and will be making proposals to further strengthen the sector.

In reply, the government said the Nationalist Party was causing great damage to Malta's reputation with its constant negative attacks on the financial services sector.

The government said there was an increase of 1,458 jobs in the sector in the last two years, and it is further expanding into other niches such as blockchain, regtech and fintech.