Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1097443
28.03.19 2 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "I think that we should recall that the National Development and Social Fund, a sovereign fund financed by proceeds from the Individual Investor Programme, a scheme selling Maltese citi- zenship to wealthy foreigners, bought the 49% shareholding held by Cyprus Popular Bank. e share purchase was final- ised in August 2018 only eight months ago," the same source explained. In 2013, Cyprus Popular Bank was placed in resolution, kicking off a process to dispose of certain assets including its shareholding in Lombard Bank. In November last year, the NDSF, which became the largest share- holder in Lombard, said it had no interest in increasing its stake in the bank and would not influence the institution's direction. It also reiterated its commitment to sell the shareholding when the market conditions are right. But no one in Government be- lieved that this would only come about so soon. In the annual report Lombard is seen as having 1,413 share- holders, who hold 44,177,914 shares. ere 680 stakeholders with 5,001 shares and over, while 152 shareholders hold between one and 500 shares. e Group recorded a pre-tax profit of €13.8 million. e main driver was the performance of Lombard Bank Malta p.l.c., since MaltaPost p.l.c., the other mem- ber of the group, registered a small decline in profitability. e bank's operations during 2018 saw an increase in the profit before tax to €12.6 million. is prompted the board to recom- mend a gross dividend of 5c per share. KURT SANSONE AND MASSIMO COSTA THE possibility of selling the National De- velopment and Social Fund's shareholding in Lombard Bank to the public is one of a num- ber of options which are being evaluated, the passport fund's head said. NDSF chairman David Curmi, asked whether he agreed with the suggestion made by Lom- bard Bank's board of directors that the pass- port fund's shares in the bank be sold to the public, said that while this option wasn't being excluded, it could raise certain issues. In the bank's annual report for 2018, released on Monday, Lombard Bank chairman Michael Bonello said that the bank's directors believed that shares held by the fund financed from the sale of citizenship should be divested to the public. Curmi, however, said this option "sounds nice" but would also raise questions connected to future ownership, strategy and long-term partnership. "We were clear [last year] when we said that the NDSF is going to dispose of its shares at the right time, in a orderly manner, and to the right persons – this position hasn't changed," Curmi told MaltaToday, "But you can't hurry when undertaking this disposal, and we are evaluating all options." "Selling the shares to the public is one possi- bility, and we are not excluding this, but there are other options… While divesting the shares to the public sounds nice, it also raises certain issues, such as those relating to future owner- ship, strategy and long-term partnership. It's quite a complex matter," he emphasised. Questioned on which stage the process had now arrived at, Curmi said headway was being made in this regard. "e process is advancing, and we are evalu- ating the pros and cons of each of the possible routes we can take to dispose of the shares," he said. Passport fund head doesn't exclude selling NDSF shares in Lombard Bank to public, but says it raises issues NDSF chairman David Curmi said the option to sell the passport fund's shares in Lombard Bank to the public was one of several options being evaluated 49% shareholding MALTA'S proposition for the UK's financial services industry was presented to industry pro- fessionals last month at Lon- don's Guildhall by FinanceMal- ta and practitioners from the financial services industry. e London-based event was aimed at highlighting the advantages and high level of services that the Maltese juris- diction has to offer to UK com- panies seeking to relocate to other jurisdictions. e event kicked off with a keynote ad- dress, followed by four focused panel discussions on Asset Management, Insurance, Pri- vate Wealth, and Blockchain. Each discussion was held con- currently in separate rooms fea- turing a different panel for each topic. Speaking about FinanceMal- ta's participation in this high level event, Wayne Pisani, Fi- nance Malta Governor said that, "the aim of our participa- tion in this event was twofold. On one hand to network with leading UK and international stakeholders and on the other hand to promote Malta as a fi- nancial services centre of inter- national repute." Pisani added "Malta has evolved into a platform for fi- nancial activity drawing on its rich history boasting millen- nia of mercantile activity as a business hub in the heart of the Mediterranean. As an EU juris- diction with a robust and inno- vative regulatory framework, excellent infrastructure and a balmy Mediterranean climate, Malta is the ideal financial ser- vices platform for businesses looking to tap a strong double tax treaty network with EMEA markets and beyond." e Asset Management dis- cussion saw the participation of Mark Caruana Scicluna from GANADO Advocates, Chris Portelli from EY Malta and Re- becca Xuereb from BOV Fund Services. e Insurance panel discus- sion was introduced by Romina Bonnici, from Mamo TCV Ad- vocates with the participation of Ian-Edward Stafrace from MARM, Karl DeGiovanni, from AON and Malcolm Falzon from Camilleri Preziosi Advocates. e private wealth panel dis- cussion was moderated by Tom Burroughs and introduced by Przemyslaw Koger from Alter Domus (Services) Malta Ltd together with Michael Gauci from Corrieri Cilia Legal and Simon Denton from Sovereign Group. e fourth and final panel discussion on Blockchain was moderated by Wayne Pisani, Finance Malta Governor and introduced by Gayk Ayvazyan from Chetcuti Cauchi. e panel discussion saw the participation of Stephen Mc- Carthy, from MDIA, Joseph Portelli, from Malta Stock Ex- change, Ian Gauci from GTG Advocates and Gerd Sapiano from the Malta Financial Ser- vices Authority. is morning event came to an end with a networking re- ception, where delegates had the opportunity to network with local industry profession- als. Malta's proposition for the UK Financial Services industry presented at London's Guildhall