Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1220547
12.03.2020 15 FINANCIAL SERVICES FOLLOWING yesterday's successful large scale test of its remote work- ing facilities, as part of its COVID-19 contingency and business continuity planning, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) continues to close- ly monitor developments in relation to the spread of COVID-19 to assess the impact on the economy, consum- ers and the financial system, whilst ensuring that public health advice and guidance from the local Health Promotion and Prevention of Disease Directorate are being adhered to. As Malta's single regulator of finan- cial services, the MFSA is working with a number of financial services industry players to ensure that regu- lated firms are responding effectively to the evolving situation. e MFSA expects regulated firms to take all reasonable measures in or- der to have appropriate contingency plans in place to be able to deal with any eventuality. e MFSA is also maintaining a close dialogue with the Central Bank of Malta, European Supervisory Au- thorities, as well with the European Central Bank, to take appropriate ac- tions, in line with identified risks. e MFSA encourages financial ser- vices firms to get in touch through the usual channels should they have any queries. THE Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to- day conducted its operations with half its staff com- plement working off-site as a "dry-run" to test the level of preparedness of the Authority's functions to ensure business continuity should circumstances warrant that, at any moment in time, the Authori- ty's team members would need to work from home. "We are pleased to report that it was business as usual for the Authority, notwithstanding that, at one point, we had over 200 team members working from different locations spread nation-wide", com- mented the Chief Operations Officer, Ivan Zammit. "As the single financial services regulator, we felt that we should adopt a proactive approach and stress-test our systems to gauge our operational readiness and intervene accordingly. is will en- sure that the MFSA will carry on operating normal- ly in the event of an escalation of preventive meas- ures." Technology-driven initiatives are at the heart of the MFSA's Strategic Plan and the Authority's tech- nological drive, with investment last year alone amounting to €1.5 million, was both timely and important because it is a key enabler for business continuity as part of its COVID-19 contingency planning. e MFSA has also implemented a temporary re- striction on travel for all its staff and management as well as ongoing office hygienic practices for all its staff and visitors. Coronovirus MFSA expects licensed firms to have in place contingency and business continuity plans MFSA tests remote working as part of COVID-19 contingency and business continuity planning