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3 NEWS 25.2.2021 FROM PAGE 1 Tourism minister had said then that bar owners would be receiving a one- time payment of up to €2,870 to cover costs for the period they spent closed down. When Fearne yesterday announded bars and clubs would now remain closed even throughout March. no mention was made of the assistance scheme. But tourism minister Clayton Bartolo told BusinessToday that the €2,2 million assistance given by government only covered to the end of February. "at scheme and the assistance of- fered was for the period bars and clubs would have spent closed to the end of February," he said. "In the coming days, government will be releasing details of additional assis- tance we will be offering bars and clubs." Under the latest scheme, commercial bars received €2,870, clubs forming part of a kazin received €1,860, while bars owned by non-political clubs received €1,260. Vaccination Fearne said that the UK variant of the COVID-19 virus made up 8% of all new Malta cases over the last week. e health minister said that while Malta is doing well, in regards to the vaccine rollout, it was important to continue to follow health guidelines. Fearne said that the closure for bars and band clubs would therefore be ex- tended until the end of March. e health minister said that following advice from experts the AstraZeneca vaccine would now be given to those aged between 55 and 65. 75 to 80-year-olds would also start re- ceiving a vaccination invitation for ap- pointments from 8 March. Fearne said that care homes would see measures relaxed due to the success of the vaccine rollout. "ose homes where 90% of the resi- dents had the second dose will see the shields go down," he said. In the previous months, relatives and resident were separated by a per- spex shield, and some care homes had banned visitors outright. Fearne also explained Wednesday's high figures were partly due to the in- clusion of rapid testing resulting. 15% of cases in the last week were rapid testing results, he said. Two deaths and 226 new cases of COVID-19 were registered yesterday. An 84-year-old man and a 97-year- old woman died at Mater Dei Hospital, bringing the total number of deaths up to 308. 68,779 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered until Tuesday. Of these, 21,767 were second doses. Total recoveries stand at 18,720 while total cases registered stand at 21,532. ere are currently 2,504 active COV- ID-19 cases. 3,274 swab tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of swabs to 684,231. An additional 1,001 rapid tests have been carried out in the past weeks. HSBC Bank has reported a profit-be- fore-tax value worth €10.4 million for the financial year, representing a 66% year-on-year decrease. is was revealed in their financial performance report covering the year ended 31 December 2020. Net interest income, derived from in- terest revenue and expenses, saw a 4% decrease to €105.9 million compared to the previous year. is was due to lower interest payments on customer, resulting from repricing exercises and changes in deposit composition, being offset by lower average yields on debt securities, money market placements, and lower overdraft and credit card bal- ances arising from the current econom- ic conditions. e bank's net fee income decreased by €1.8 million compared to 209 figures, which the bank says was driven largely by a reduction in activity due to COV- ID-19 across cards, playments, insur- ance and credit facilities. Operating costs also took a dip, amounting to €97.4 million compared to €120.7 million reported in 2019, the latter of which included a restructuring provision worth €16 million. Excluding this provision, the bank said it delivered a cost reduction worth €7.3 million, or 7%, while absorbing infla- tionary and other expenses related to COVID-19. Expected credit losses and other cred- it impairment charges for the financial year stood at €25.6 million – an increase of €25.2 million compared to 2019. e bank said that this increase was driven by expected losses, as opposed to in- curred losses. e bank mentioned the possibility of future defaults linked to extended mor- atoria measures, and said that this has been considered. Tax expense totalled €2.9 million in 2020, at an effective tax rate worth 27.5%. is is €7.7 million lower than the expense incurred in 2019, which stood at €10.5 million. e bank's insurance intermediary, HSBC Life Assurance, reported a loss before tax of €9.1 million – a signifi- cant drop compared to the €3.1 million profit before tax reported in 2019. e bank said that this adverse variance is largely attributable to a drop in finan- cial markets and further deterioration of the yield curve negatively impacting revenues by €3 million. Actuarial losses of €8.4 million, as modelled parameters such as lapses and interest rates, were worse than those es- timated in 2019. Financial position and capital Net loans and advances to customers increased by €7.2 million, totalling to €3,265 million with retail balances up 1% and commercial balances down 1% compared to December 2019. Customer deposits held in the bank grew by 6% to €5,273 million, driven by retail deposits with commercial balanc- es broadly flat. e bank's advances-to-deposits ratio was mainted at a 62% level, and its li- quidity ratios remained "well in excess of regulatory requirements". HSBC's financial investments port- folio decreased by 7% to €877 million, relating to the investment of maturing debt securities in treasury bills. e HSBC Board recommended a div- idend pay-out ratio of 15% on the cu- mulated 2019 and 2020 reported prof- its, after deducting any dividend paid in relation to the same period. e final gross dividend will be 1.16 cents per share, with the final dividen to be paid on 26 April 2021 to those on the bank's register of shareholders as at 23 March 2021. HSBC pre-tax profits down to €10.4 million Government aid for bars and clubs to be announced 'in the coming days'

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