Volksbank Malta onshore move approved

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) announced it has approved the conversion of the offshore banking licence held by Volksbank Malta Limited, which it had held for seven years, into a licence to operate as a local credit institution

The new licence became effective on 1 November and allows the bank to do business with persons who are residents of Malta as well as with non-residents.

In addition to normal banking services, Volksbank Malta Limited is authorised to carry out a number of ancillary activities including money transmission services; issuing and administering means of payment; dealing in foreign exchange; issuing and dealing in money market instruments, exchange and interest rate instruments and transferable instruments; and the provision of safe custody services, trade finance, guarantees and commitments.

Volksbank Malta Limited has been operating in Malta since 1995 and employs 20 persons. In 2001 Volksbank Malta recorded a growth in total assets of 25.9 per cent. The bank’s main shareholder is Osterreichische Volksbanken-AG (OVAG) which was established in 1922 as an umbrella organisation for a number of Austrian co-operative lending institutions.

The new licence is in line with strategic developments in the Maltese financial services sector that started with the phasing out of Malta’s special regime for offshore companies and the alignment of Malta’s financial legislation with international best practice in 1994.

The services given by Volksbank Malta include personal and corporate banking, home loans, trade finance, investment services and foreign exchange. Its bureaucracy-free policy enables the bank to approve home loans within 24 hours, and the fast turnaround on international payments saves businessmen and corporate clients time and money. The bank also offers an extensive portfolio of over thirty different collective investment schemes comprising bond-based funds, balanced funds, equities and funds of funds.