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5 NEWS 1.4.2021 DURING the year ended 31 December 2020, despite the pandemic, Iżola Bank managed to generate growth in its reve- nue streams, growing its interest income by 4% over 2019 levels. is growth was significantly below projected levels which resulted in the Bank holding excess liquidity, built over the last months of 2019, with the conse- quence that interest expense increased by 26%. Compared to the previous year, net interest income decreased by €621,627 (10%). is decrease coupled with the in- crease in related Depositor Compensa- tion Scheme contributions resulted in a profit before tax for the year of €604,891; a decrease of 76% on 2019. Profit after tax was 385,220, down 74% compared to the previous year. Against this background and whilst containing spend on recurrent expend- iture, the Bank continued investing in staff complement and key ancillary support services, all geared towards po- sitioning the Bank for its next growth phase. e bank's Cost-to-Income ratio in- creased to 86.9% (2019: 61.4%) which is primarily the result of the impact of the Depositor Compensation Scheme contribution; a contribution supporting the 2019 levels of covered deposits and therefore a non-recurrent item. Adjust- ed for this contribution, the cost-to-in- come ratio would be 68.5%, which is very much in line with the industry norm. e total assets of the Bank increased by 5.7% to €389,296,940, mainly driven by increases in the loan and treasury portfolios. Factored receivables, a key component of the Bank's business, de- clined marginally by 6%. is was mostly expected as the fac- toring business depends mostly on the purchasing of receivables from custom- ers, which is in turn directly related to economic activity. Izola Bank grows revenue streams amid pandemic MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. declares 2020 bonuses MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. has approved the bonus rates for With-Profits policies for the year ended 31 December 2020. A Regular Bonus Rate of 1.50% was declared on the Company's core prod- ucts namely the Comprehensive Flexi Plan (regular and single premium pol- icies), the Single Premium Plan and on the With-Profits options of the Invest- ment Bond, Retirement Plan and the Personal Pension Plan. A Regular Bonus Rate of 1.40% was declared on the Com- prehensive Life Plan (regular and single premium policies). e 2020 Regular Bonus Rates for these contracts repre- sent a reduction of 1.35% from the 2019 declaration. On the 'Old Series' Endowment and Whole Life policies, a Regular Bonus of 1% of the basic sum assured plus bo- nuses was declared. e 2020 Regular Bonus Rates for these contracts repre- sent a reduction of 1.00% from the 2019 declaration. In addition, for plans that have been in force for more than 10 years, the Board also announced the declaration of a Fi- nal Bonus in respect of Comprehensive Life Plans (Single and Regular Premi- um), Comprehensive Flexi Plans (Sin- gle and Regular Premium) and Single Premium Plans. For the Comprehensive Life Plan (Regular Premium) and Com- prehensive Flexi Plan (Regular Premi- um), a Final Bonus of 1.25% has been declared for every year in force after the 10th year of the policy. For Single Premium policies the Final Bonus is expressed as a combination of a flat percentage plus an additional per- centage for every year in force after the 10th year of the policy. For the Single Premium Plan, Com- prehensive Flexi Plan (Single Premium) and Comprehensive Life Plan (Sin- gle Premium), a flat Final Bonus Rate of 5.00% will be paid on the value of the policy account plus an additional percentage of 2.50 % for every year in force after the 10th year of the policy. Unless the Final Bonus rates change in the meantime, these Final Bonuses will be paid on the value of the Policy Ac- count as at the date of death or maturity between 24 March 2021 and 31 March 2022. e Board also approved a Regular Bonus of 1.40% on those Secure Growth policies which formed part of the port- folio of business transferred to MAPFRE MSV Life from Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. during 2000. Finally, the Board also approved a Regular Bonus of 1.00% on the ALICO 78 policies and a Regular Bonus of 1.00% on the ALICO 66 pol- icies which formed part of the portfo- lio of business transferred to MAPFRE MSV Life in 2011 from American Life Insurance Company ("ALICO"). e MAPFRE MSV With-Profits Fund increased by 1.9% from €2.14 billion in 2019 to €2.18 billion at 31 December 2020. e total investment return of the Fund amounted to €60.2 million, rep- resenting a strong recovery from the adverse impact on financial markets following the declaration of the COV- ID-19 virus as a pandemic in March 2020. is compares to a total invest- ment return of €222.1 million in 2019. Notwithstanding the prudent invest- ment policy adopted by MAPFRE MSV Life, past performance is no guarantee for the future. Although MAPFRE MSV Life's with-profits investments have generally provided policyholders with stable and satisfactory returns when compared with other similar invest- ment products, in the light of the cur- rent uncertainty in the capital markets and the deepening of the low interest rate environment, investment returns could fluctuate further. Fair value movements and investment returns impinge directly on the rates of bonuses declared by the Company. Regular Bonuses are therefore expect- ed to vary over the lifetime of the pol- icy whilst Final Bonuses are likely to be highly volatile and very dependent on the investment performance of the Company. For investors, the year was character- ised by sharp swings for stocks. March saw an upwards spike in volatility and a large drop in all major indices as the pandemic worsened. is was followed by a rally in April, and stocks reaching their previous highs by August. Both Developed market equities and Emerg- ing Market group gained in Q4 as vac- cine breakthroughs fostered hopes for normality. Within this context, the MAPFRE MSV Life With-Profits Fund returned a net return of 3.00% which is considered to be a satisfactory performance within the context of the unprecedented global environment that characterised 2020. The MAPFRE MSV Life With- Profits Fund e money of MAPFRE MSV Life With-Profits policyholders is invested in the MAPFRE MSV Life With-Prof- its Fund. With assets under manage- ment of €2.18 billion and approximately 78,000 With-Profits policies in force, the MAPFRE MSV Life With-Profits Fund is one of the largest managed sav- ings funds in Malta. e size and strength of the Fund al- low for investing in a very wide range of global assets. e objective of the MAP- FRE MSV Life With-Profits Fund is to offer competitive long-term real returns by smoothing the peaks and troughs of day-to-day market movements whilst at the same time providing an underlying capital guarantee. is means that With-Profits invest- ments remain a good choice for in- vestors seeking steady growth from a spread of investments over the longer term with some downside protection. In uncertain times, the benefits of smoothing and guarantees can provide advantages to With-Profits policyhold- ers over other forms of investment.

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