The Malta Independent on Sunday
‘Resilience in uncertain times’ – Central Bank of Malta hosts its first ever financial stability report launch
The Central Bank of Malta hosted its first ever Financial Stability Report (FSR) launch entitled Financial Stability Report 2021 – Resilience in Uncertain Times which took place on 29 September 2022 at the Central Bank of Malta, Valletta.
The FSR is the Bank’s flagship report on Malta’s financial stability and this launch is a first of its kind, focusing on the Bank’s recently published 14th FSR 2021. The FSR assesses developments in 2021 relevant for domestic financial stability, covering the activities of banks, as well as domestically-relevant insurances and investment funds.
In his welcome address the Central Bank of Malta Governor, Professor Scicluna stated that “It is our intention to make the key takeaways from our Bank reports, including the one on financial stability, more accessible to the public. Financial stability does underpin the people’s dayto-day
lives and therefore deserves getting its due recognition.”
This launch featured a keynote speech by the Honorable Minister
for Finance and Employment, Clyde Caruana who touched upon the importance of fiscal stability. Following this address, a presentation was delivered by
Alan Cassar, Chief Officer Financial Stability and Statistics Division at the Bank, who underlined the key highlights of the FSR 2021. Two CBM financial stability experts Andrew Spiteri and David Stephen Law delivered presentations entitled, ‘Cyclical risk developments in Malta’ and ‘Incorporating climate risk into an adverse scenario for Malta’, respectively.
In his closing remarks, Central Bank of Malta Deputy Governor Oliver Bonello held that despite these uncertain times, the Maltese financial system remained resilient, however, challenges remain particularly with respect to the increasing concentration in the banks’ loan books and potential asset quality deterioration going forward. Most of the identified risks are not exclusive to Malta and some are in line with the trends being observed throughout Europe. However, any increasing vulnerabilities cannot be ignored and may need to be addressed through targeted policy response for the continuing success and stability of the financial sector.