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4 NEWS 4.11.2021 THE Chamber of Advocates has an- nounced that the Annual Company Law Conference for 2021, organized jointly by the Chamber through its Malta Law Academy Foundation and the Depart- ment of Commercial Law at the Uni- versity of Malta, will carry the theme 'Recent Issues, Challenges, and New Di- rections in Company Law'. It will be held on 17 November at the Valletta Universi- ty Campus between 1pm and 5pm. "Company law in Malta is currently in transition and its nature is changing, hopefully not beyond recognition and as we observe this new legal and regu- latory landscape, we need to retain our focus on the true objects and character of company law," said Dr David Fabri, who has been organising this confer- ence for almost 20 years. "Aspects of the Companies Act that need to be re- thought, company compliance from a practitioner's perspective, the beneficial ownership of companies and the Malta Business Registry's supervisory role will be amongst the main themes discussed." He said that while companies are there to carry on business and to create jobs and wealth, they need to also keep up with all the changes in the law, which to- day regularly occur twice or three times a year, often difficult to keep up with. is is one of the main issues addressed in this annual conference. "On the other hand, we are seeing how from a true registrar, the Registrar of Companies in assuming new powers and has launched compliance visits. Partly, at least, these developments are due to in- creased regulation which tries to prevent money-laundering and the local fears and concerns relating to the recent un- precedented greylisting by the FATF." Fabri said that the conference will ex- amine if the industry is now at a stage where the number of regulations, form-filling, and other requirements might become unsustainable especially for individual operators and small firms. Scheduled speakers for the conference include Dr Louis de Gabriele, President of the Chamber of Advocates', Judge Emeritus Dr Joseph Zammit McKeon's speaking on "Rethinking Aspects of the Companies Act: Certainty as opposed to Reluctance and/or Uncertainty", Dr Ste- fan Berry, Council President of the Mal- ta Association of Compliance Officers, who will talk about company compliance from a practitioner's perspective, and Dr Geraldine Spiteri Lucas, Registrar of Companies from the Malta Business Registry who will address the issue of beneficial ownership of companies and the MBR's supervisory role. A round-table discussion moderated by Dr Kris Borg from the University's Law Faculty will address the future of compa- ny law. e panel will include Dr Andrew Zammit from GVZH, Dr Andre Zerafa from Ganado Advocates, Dr Laragh Cas- sar from Camilleri Cassar Advocates and Dr Nicolai Vella Falzon from Fenech and Fenech Advocates. "e bottom line remains that we need to discuss whether company law is on the way to losing its identity and gradually be- coming an extension of the already com- plex network and mechanisms against money-laundering," Fabri said. "I believe companies and company law are and should remain much more than that." Registrations are now open, and these require booking and payment in advance by email to events@avukati.org. e participation fee for Chamber members is €50 per person, whilst non-members pay €60. In accordance with COVID-19 regulations, all participants must be fully vaccinated and will have their vaccina- tion certificate scanned prior to entering the conference hall. Conference to examine if company law is heading in the right direction LEADING investment firm Curmi & Part- ners has announced a tech partnership with the innovative investment platform and software provider UK company ird Financial. e London-based firm is best known for its proprietary investment man- agement software suite Tercero, which gives wealth managers access to the tools they need to allow them to concentrate on managing their clients' assets, safe in the knowledge that their technology and oper- ations are in the hands of the expert Terce- ro Platform team. To date this software is used by approxi- mately 60 leading investment management firms in the UK to manage over GPB 50 bil- lion of client assets. With over 20 years of experience, the in- dependently owned wealth management company provides the highest levels of per- sonal expertise and advice to individuals and companies seeking meaningful returns on their investments. Commenting on this partnership, Curmi & Partners CEO David Curmi said; "Our firm has a longstanding reputation of delivering sterling service to all our clients. I am confident that this latest addition will complement and enhance our offering whilst propelling us to new levels of growth and recognition within the finan- cial services industry." Ricky Ali, commercial director for ird Financial added "We are thrilled to wel- come Curmi & Partners on board as our latest client. It has been a pleasure to work with the team in Malta, and we look for- ward to a long successful working relation- ship. "THE Changing Face of Banking" is the title of the annual webinar organised by the Malta Bankers' Association (MBA). e event will take place on ursday 11 Novem- ber 2021 at 10.00hrs. e annual event will be held in the form of a three hour webinar. e objective of the webinar is to bring various relevant stakeholders together to cover diverse aspects of the banking industry and assess the developments in the sector given the various challenges and tech- nological changes that have taken place, and will continue to take place. e MBA event will, amongst oth- ers, cover aspects relating to regu- latory developments impacting the sector as well as provide insight on developments taking place in other jurisdictions' banking sectors. e event will feature a line-up of distinguished speakers from the Malta Bankers' Association, the Dutch Banking Association, the European Banking Federation (EBF), the European Central Bank (ECB), the Malta Financial Servic- es Authority (MFSA), EY, as well as key players in the local banking sec- tor, amongst others. e event will commence with a welcome address from Rick Hunkin, CEO of Bank of Valletta and MBA Chairman. Curmi & Partners onboards London-based FinTech firm MBA annual webinar on the changing face of banking

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