Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1191618
12.12.19 4 NEWS FOR the first time, MAPFRE Econom- ic Research has evaluated the perfor- mance and prospects of non-life premi- ums growth in 38 markets (33 countries and 5 regions), as part of its report "Growth Forecasts for Insurance Mar- kets: Non-Life." Non-Life premiums in the global in- surance market have shown signs of slowing, in line with the slowdown of the economy as a whole. e study predicts growth for this business to be slightly below 3 percent on average dur- ing the 2019–2020 period, which is less than half the growth posted in 2017 and 2018. is performance is expected to be driven by the general appreciation of the US dollar against nearly all other currencies (both from emerging and developed economies) since the end of 2018 and during 2019, as well as the cy- clical deterioration of global economic activity. However, experts from Economic Re- search believe global premiums will return to growth levels of close to 6% during the 2021–2022 period. As a re- sult of this trend, non-life premiums are expected to total 2.5 trillion dollars by the end of 2022. By region, non-life premiums in the eurozone insurance market climbed by an average of 3.1% in nominal terms and 1.5% in real terms between 2017 and 2018. Economic Research expects the real growth figure to ease to 0.8% in 2019– 2020 and 0.5% in 2021–2022. Looking specifically at Spain, non- Life premiums in the insurance market expanded in nominal terms by 4% on average during the 2017–2018 period, which in real terms means growth of 2.3%, i.e. nearly one percentage point more than the eurozone. In turn, this is coherent with the stronger performance posted by the Spanish economy. During the 2019–2020 period nominal growth in the Non-Life segment is set to converge toward 3.3% and maintain the same spread against the eurozone, while the real rate is expected to ap- proach 1.8%. Economic Research left its GDP growth forecast for this year un- changed at 2%, while cutting its forecast for next year to 1.7%, as detailed in the latest update to its "Economic and In- dustry Outlook" report. Economic Research bases its non- Life premiums growth forecasts on the macroeconomic scenario established in its "Economic and Industry Outlook" report, which is published each quarter. Under the baseline macroeconomic scenario, it expects the global Non-Life insurance business (all 38 markets ana- lysed) to drive premiums growth in the market of between 250 and 350 billion dollars during the analyzed period, lift- ing the total market value to 2.5 trillion dollars by the end of 2022. e country contributing most to this expansion is China, followed at a con- siderable distance by the United States, Indonesia and the eurozone. In con- trast, contributions from Latin Amer- ica, Eastern Europe and the remaining developed countries will be minor, giv- en feeble growth in some cases and the relatively small market sizes in others. MAPFRE forecasts non-life premiums growth of less than 3% A number of BOV employees have re- cently graduated from the BOV Acade- my after successfully completing Train- ing and Development courses. In 2019, 112 staff members have graduated in 4 programmes covering Fundamentals of Risk Management and Regulation for Financial Institutions, Management and Leadership, Train the Trainer and Investments. Also during this year, the Bank distributed financial grants to an- other 36 employees who completed fur- ther studies outside Bank of Valletta and who obtained certification in Awards, Diplomas, Degrees and Masters Levels. Most of the training programmes of- fered through the BOV Academy are recognised by the National Council for Further and Higher Education. BOV is licensed as a "Higher Education Institu- tion" and offers its employees, qualifica- tions at MQF Level 5. Apart from the above, during 2019 the Bank offered its employees 312 in- tensive programmes related to class- room training on the new core banking IT system which will be introduced in the coming months. 3620 participants attended such training which was fol- lowed up with 'elearning' modules. In total, a record figure of 5300 par- ticipants completed learning and devel- opment programmes organised by the Bank during this year - an average of 3 courses attended by each employee. Speaking during the Graduation Cer- emony, Bank of Valletta Chairman, Deo Scerri praised the commitment of the employees who seek to further en- hance their careers through personal development. "e strength of the Bank lies within the continuous training and development of our staff members. e Bank is proud to offer such opportuni- ties and is grateful for the commitment of our trainers" said Mr Scerri. Bank of Valletta CEO, Mario Mallia and Chief Officer Ethics and Employee Development, Anthony Scicluna pre- sented Certificates to all the graduates. Apple Pay coming to Bank of Valletta