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4 NEWS 19.5.2022 GDP up 0.3% in euro area APS green loans extended to electric vehicles for private use New non-executive director on EPG Financial Services' board of directors IN the first quarter of 2022, seasonally ad- justed GDP increased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU, compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash es- timate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the fourth quarter of 2021, GDP had grown by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP in- creased by 5.1% in the euro area and by 5.2% in the EU in the first quarter of 2022, after +4.7% in the euro area and +4.9% in the EU in the previous quarter. During the first quarter of 2022, GDP in the United States decreased by 0.4% compared to the previous quarter (after +1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP in- creased by 3.6% (after +5.5% in the previous quarter). Employment growth in the euro area and EU e number of employed persons increased by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU in the first quarter of 2022, compared with the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2021, employment had increased by 0.4% in both the euro area and the EU. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 2.6% in the euro area and by 2.5% in the EU in the first quarter of 2022, after +2.1% in both areas in the fourth quarter of 2021. AFTER its launch last year, the APS Green Finance Loan is now being ex- tended to cover the financing of elec- tric vehicles for personal and private use. e financing of plug-in hybrid ve- hicles remains exclusive to commer- cial use, e.g. trucks, vans and fleet cars. e terms of the prevailing interest rate subsidy have also been signifi- cantly enhanced, allowing easier and more affordable access to financing under this product. is loan facility follows the agree- ment signed in December 2020 with the European Investment Fund (EIF), marking its participation in the Ener- gy Efficiency and Renewable Energy investment scheme. Under this scheme, both retail and commercial customers benefit from features such as longer loan repay- ment terms, subsidised interest rates, discounted fees, reduced collateral requirements and advisory services provided by European Investment Bank members, to invest in technol- ogy or devices to manage and reduce their carbon footprint. Zoltan Horvath, Head of Proposi- tions at APS Bank, commented: "We are delighted to be offering such an improved green loan product to the market, which has recently been re- vised to make it even more acces- sible and beneficial to customers wishing to make more sustainable choices." EPG Financial Services Limited has appointed Karol Gabarretta as non-executive director within its Board of Directors (subject to regulatory approval). Gabarretta holds extensive com- pliance and regulatory experience in financial services through his contributions as secretary gener- al at the Malta Bankers' Associa- tion, and previous roles held as a member of the supervisory board of the Single Supervisory Mecha- nism (SSM) and at the Malta Fi- nancial Services Authority as the Director for Banking Supervision. Gabarretta said that he is look- ing towards contributing to the EPG Board, and in supporting the continued development and launch of payment and e-wal- let services, and ensuring these are undertaken with a compli- ance-first mindset. He joins chairman Michael Kramer, Dirk Quermann, Rupert Kainzbauer, Roberto Migliozzi and Oliver Krückemeier in the composition of the EPG board. EPG Financial Services Limited is a payments services provider and e-money institution licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority. FOOD prices increased by a whop- ping 9% in April when compared to 12 months earlier as overall inflation continued to bite hard, official figures show. Overall annual inflation in April stood at 5.4%, increasing by almost one point over March, the Harmo- nised Index for Consumer Prices re- leased by the National Statistics Of- fice shows. In March, annual inflation stood at 4.5%. The price of bread was a main con- tributor to higher food prices, the NSO said. Commodity prices like wheat and grains have shot up in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While food and non-alcoholic bever- ages continued to be the main driver of inflation, this was followed by the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index, which experienced an annual inflation of 8.6%. With the prices of water, electricity, gas and fuels remaining stable, the index was driven by higher housing maintenance costs. Prices for recreation and culture increased by 7% in April when com- pared to the previous year. The communication index was the only one to experience a decrease (-1.8%) in annual inflation in April. The HICP measures monthly price changes in the cost of purchasing a representative basket of consumer goods and services. It is calculated ac- cording to rules developed by Eurostat and is used to compare inflation rates across the EU. Although HICP meas- ures price movements just like the Re- tail Price Index, the two differ in their methodology. The RPI is used to cal- culate the Cost of Living Adjustment wage increase. Inflation is hurting consumers and eroding their purchasing power. Pric- es had started to rise towards the end of last year on the back of a post-COV- ID recovery that saw growing demand unable to be met because of supply chain disruptions. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine towards the end of February and sanctions against Russia, have disrupted energy, mineral and food markets, causing prices to rise further. Food prices rose 9% in April as inflation continues to hurt consumers Contribution to the annual inflation rate by the 12 main divisions: April 2022 3 Note: A percentage point is the arithmetic difference between two percentages. Annual rate (%) 12-month moving average rate (%) Annual rate (%) 12-month moving average rate (%) Annual rate (%) 12-month moving average rate (%) January 1.4 1.6 0.2 0.7 4.1 1.0 February 1.1 1.5 0.1 0.6 4.2 1.3 March 1.2 1.5 0.1 0.5 4.5 1.7 April 1.1 1.5 0.1 0.4 5.4 2.1 May 0.9 1.4 0.2 0.4 June 1.0 1.3 0.2 0.3 July 0.7 1.2 0.3 0.3 August 0.7 1.1 0.4 0.2 September 0.5 1.0 0.7 0.3 October 0.6 1.0 1.4 0.3 November 0.2 0.9 2.4 0.5 December 0.2 0.8 2.6 0.7 2022 Restaurants and hotels Index (+0.94 percentage points) and the Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels Index (+0.84 percentage points), mainly on account of higher prices of restaurant services and house maintenance services respectively (Chart 2). The downward impact on annual inflation was registered in the Communication Index (-0.07 percentage points), mainly due to lower prices of communication services (Chart 2). Table 2. Inflation rates by year and month Month 2021 Chart 2. Contribution to the annual inflation rate by the 12 main divisions: April 2022 2020 -0.07 0.03 0.10 0.11 0.18 0.26 0.34 0.53 0.57 0.84 0.94 1.56 -0.30 -0.10 0.10 0.30 0.50 0.70 0.90 1.10 1.30 1.50 1.70 Communication Alcoholic beverages and tobacco Health Education Clothing and footwear Miscellaneous goods and services Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance Recreation and culture Transport Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels Restaurants and hotels Food and non-alcoholic beverages percentage points Karol Gabarretta

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