Absolute majority of enterprises concerned about banking situation in Malta – GRTU

The absolute majority of enterprises are concerned about Malta’s banking situation, the GRTU - Malta’s Chamber of SMEs said.

The chamber organised it’s annual SME Conference on Thursday. This year’s conference focused on banking and financial issues and GRTU Malta Chamber of SMEs published its survey results.

Seventy-four per cent of the enterprises replied that they find it difficult to get funds from banks – up by 25 per cent over the results of a similar survey that asked the same question back in 2011.

The survey showed that 28.5 per cent of the respondents believe that the quality of service received from banks in Malta has drastically worsened over the years, while a further 31.4 per cent believe that it has worsened.

The data also shows that the majority believe that acquiring financing from banks is costly.

In terms of the length of time it takes to open a new bank account, the vast majority say it is lengthy or very lengthy.

The main issue businesses encounter when trying to acquire financing from banks is bureaucracy, with guarantees, high collateral and high interest rates following after this.

“The survey results show that businesses need more competition in the banking sector and that from a business perspective, the situation in the banking sector has never been worse,” a statement accompanying the survey by the GRTU read. The survey results were published by GRTU vice president Marcel Mizzi.

The conference was addressed by the Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses Chris Cardona. He insisted that “we are facing new challenges of new economic times, and there are no easy solutions. Offering support and resolutions for these dynamic challenges is what guarantees our businesses future success.”

The minister referenced the tight labour market and changing banking policy as two of the new challenges businesses are today facing, as the country has entered a new economic era.

New challenges to businesses nowadays highlighted in the conference, also include their incorporation and adjustment to rapid technological changes, including data management, information security and incorporating a blockchain infrastructure.

Malta Enterprise CEO Kurt Farrugia also addressed the conference and announced that local businesses will benefit from a partnership signed between Malta Enterprise and TSystems, a Deutsche Telekom subsidiary, whereby together they will be offering blockchain as a service for companies setting up their blockchain project in Malta.

GRTU Malta Chamber of SMEs president Paul Abela said that, while Malta is going through a very particular time, “we are facing challenges that come from having too much success.”

Paul Abela said that a lot of hard work went into getting Malta to where it is today, and this hard work was not only done by policy makers, but a lot of it was by enterprise owners.