Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1150355
01.08.19 6 NEWS AS part of the MFSA's efforts to engage with its stakeholders more effectively and encourage FinTech innovation, a consultation work- shop was held by FinanceMalta in collaboration with the MFSA earli- er today. e workshop was held following the publication of Pillar 1 – Regula- tions Consultation Document pre- sented under the FinTech Strategy, issued by the MFSA earlier in July. e consultation session was attended by over 120 delegates, whereby the MFSA discussed its proposals on the Regulatory Sand- box as well as the framework for Regulatory and Supervisory Tech- nology solutions being developed by interested parties. During this event, attendees also had the opportunity to give their feedback and put forward ques- tions in relation to how the Reg- ulatory Sandbox will operate in practice, the eligibility criteria and participation structure. MFSA's Chief Officer - Strategy, Policy & Innovation, Dr Christo- pher P. Buttigieg explained that "in line with our vision to be a forward-looking financial services regulator, this consultation process is key to establish Malta as a global FinTech hub. rough the proposed regulatory framework, our aim is to encourage businesses to apply new and inno- vative business models and give them the opportunity to test the commercial and regulatory viabili- ty of their innovations, whilst con- taining risks to consumers and the financial system." Other speakers presenting their views on the proposed initiatives and the applicability of innovative technology in the FinTech sphere included Joshua Ellul, Chairman, Malta Digital Innovation Authority, Dr Abdalla Kablan, Director, wyzer. ai & Caledo Tech and Chris Kaye, CEO and Co-founder, Sherpa. e Consultation Document is available on the MFSA website. Stakeholders are invited to sub- mit their feedback until 30 August 2019. Over 120 industry players participate in workshop on MFSA's proposed Regulatory Sandbox Strong first half 2019 results reported by APS Bank APS Bank has announced a strong op- erating performance at both Group and Bank for the first half of 2019. Extracts from the unaudited accounts of the Bank for the six months ended 30 June 2019 were released after these were presented at a meeting yesterday to the Board of Directors. e main income constituents continued to show steady growth over the same period in 2018. At Bank level, Net Interest Income grew by 14.4% while Net Non-Inter- est Income (in the main part, Fees and Commissions) increased by 11.9%. As a result, Operating Income grew by 13.9%, from €22.9 million in 2018 to €26.1 mil- lion in 2019. Despite continuing cost pressures arising from investment in personnel and other operating expenses, including risk and compliance, technolo- gy, security and process transformation, always in support of the orderly business growth, cost-efficiency was maintained around the 53% level. Pre-tax Profit of €11.4 million (2018 - €10.5 million) showed an increase of 8.6% over last year. Although these num- bers are largely mirrored at Group level, consolidated results additionally reflect the positive fair value movement in the APS Diversified Bond Fund during the period under review pushing Group Pre- tax Profit to €14.9 million compared to €9.3 million in 2018. Balance sheet activity remains the main driver behind the growth, as deposit raising and lending grew by 5.5% and 8.6%, to €1.74 billion and €1.45 billion respectively, since 31 December 2018. High liquidity on the one hand permits Liquidity Coverage (LCR) and Net Stable Funding (NSFR) Ratios to be maintained well above the regulatory minima; on the other hand surplus liquidity creates chal- lenges as a low or negative interest rate environment persists. While the Bank remains buoyant about its growth prospects in line with its 2019- 2021 Business Plan, funding strategies may need to be adjusted to optimise spread management. Late in May the Bank received €13 million of new CET1 equity at the conclusion of a Rights Issue which, as announced and on top of re- tained earnings from 2018, marked the conclusion of Phase 1 of its Capital Devel- opment Plan. is injection not only sup- ports the Bank's capital adequacy but pro- vides a platform for its future progress. e CET 1 Capital ratio as at end of June stood at 14%, well above the stat- utory minimum. Key performance ra- tios for NPLs and profitability (adjusted ROAE) remained strong, at 3.1% and 10%, respectively. Commenting on the results, CEO Mar- cel Cassar said APS Bank was continuing with its plans of scaling up around a core business model that looks at selective growth and diversification of both its funding and credit base. "At the same time we continue to strengthen governance, risk controls and technology to enrich the customer expe- rience in a safe and prudent way," he said. "Our gradual gain in market share also continues in a business environment that remains competitive and challenging." MELITA has launched Business Stars, ul- tra-flexible mobile plans which start from just €5 per month. When subscribing to Business Stars, business owners have total flexibility in adding on bundles of up to 50 GB of data per month and EU and international calls, depending on their requirements. Subscribers also have the opportunity to change and add benefits to their mobile plan at any point throughout the period of their contract. Simon Baldacchino Barthet, Business Sales Senior Manager at Melita Limited, said Mel- ita understands that business owners want the best possible value with the least hassle from their communications provider. "Business Stars is the ideal solution, a mobile plan that a customer can build according to the specific needs of his or her business, and which can be created through our website," he said. More information is available at www. melitabusiness.com. Melita launches Business Stars mobile plans