Industry Updates

Bank of Valletta fined by the Malta Financial Services Authority for breeching regulations

Friday, January 06, 2012

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Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York: The Malta Financial Services Authority is imposing an administrative penalty of €175,174 on Bank of Valletta plc for regulatory breaches. The penalty is related to disclosure of information and suitability of financial instruments sold to the general public. The action was first reported by the Times of Malta today.

The action comes as the result of an investigation started in 2009, after the Authority received complaints from customers of Bank of Valletta on the way in which certain securities were being sold to investors. The complaints were placed on products including perpetuals and other preferred securities issued by Lehman Bros, Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and others.

The Authority is recommending that Bank of Valletta compensate investors that filed complaints. Apart from the fee, the Authority only has the right to make recommendations on what the bank should do to making things right with investors. A full accounting of the action and complaints is available on the Authority's website. Officials have also noted that they will continue investigating any new complaints that come to light.

Finco Treasury Management Ltd is taking action against Bank of Valletta and said in a statement they were pleased by the authority's actions. The Bank was also fined earlier this year as a result of poor fund administration.

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