His Excellency Dr George Abela, President of Malta, paid an official visit to the BOV Centre in St Venera, where he was greeted upon his arrival by Chairman Roderick Chalmers and Chief Executive Officer Tonio Depasquale.
The Chairman and CEO accompanied the President through the Centre’s Foyer, where he visited an art exhibition featuring works by eleven artists who are members of the Bank’s staff complement. Mr Depasquale explained that employees are regarded as the Bank’s most valuable asset and that the Bank regularly organizes events that promote the talents of its staff members. The visit also included a brief tour of several key departments where members of the Bank’s staff had the opportunity to meet the President. About 450 of the Bank’s complement of 1,500 are housed within around 30 departments at BOV Centre, which is a hub of activity with business processes ranging from Financial Markets to Information Technology and Human Resources among others.
Mr Chalmers introduced the President to the Bank’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee followed by a presentation by Mr Depasquale. The CEO presented an overview of the Bank’s history, its role in the economic development of our Nation and the important role that Bank of Valletta plays within the Maltese Community. Tonio Depasquale highlighted the fact that as the largest financial institution in Malta one cannot neglect the impact that the organisation’s activities bear upon the community and demonstrated the way in which the Bank redistributes a portion of its profits via defined pillars of the Community Relations Programme.
The visit came to a conclusion with a lunchtime reception during which, staff from both BOV Centre and Branches, were briefly addressed by Mr Chalmers and the President. During this address the President stated that BOV employees are privileged to work within such a caring and collaborative environment. The President reminded those present that he, too, served as both a non-executive director and an executive director to the BOV Board in the past. He highlighted the important role that Bank of Valletta plays in the Maltese economy and praised the Bank and its management for its sound, ethical business approach during the past twelve months. The President concluded by expressing his gratitude to BOV’s management and staff for the warm welcome he received.
On behalf of all the staff at BOV, the Chairman presented His Excellency with a sculpture as a commemorative gift.
