Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1474708
2 NEWS 28 JULY 2022 IZOLA Bank p.l.c has announced a €14 million unsecured subordinated bond issue with an annual interest rate of 5% and a nominal value of €100 per bond at par. e bond issue will mature on 15 Sep- tember 2032 but may be redeemable at the bank's discretion on any date fall- ing between 15 September 2027 and 14 September 2032. e bonds will form part of the Bank's capital and as such, Izola Bank will use the bond issue funds to help sustain its growth strategy. Existing bondholders of the 4.5% Izola Bank p.l.c. Unsecured Bonds 2025 (ISIN MT0000531211) are being invited to subscribe to the bonds in exchange for their existing holding at a 2.5% premi- um over par value (that is, at €102.50). e bond issue will open for subscrip- tions by existing bondholders and the general public (through an Interme- diaries' Offer) between 1 August and noon on 7 September, but may close earlier in the event of over-subscription. e bonds are expected to be admitted to the official list of the Malta Stock on 23 September, with trading commenc- ing thereafter. Andrew Mifsud, CEO and Executive Director of Izola Bank plc said that the bond issue will enable the bank to continue its growth path, providing ex- cellent digital banking services with a human touch. "Our team are strong advocates for putting our customers at the centre of everything we do," he said. "Our impec- cable service level, corroborated by our customers' experience, our ongoing in- vestment in technology and our diversi- fied portfolio are helping the bank grow from strength-to-strength." He said that recent and ongoing pro- jects include the launch of retail mort- gage lending in the local market earli- er this year and the upcoming launch of the bank's new factoring solution, which is provided by HPD Lendscape, one of the world's leading factoring software providers. "We will also shortly be relaunching Izola Saver, our online savings platform to the local and international market, with an improved customer experience and more features to help our custom- ers save money around their lifestyle," Mifsud said. Izola Bank p.l.c. obtained its bank- ing licence in 1994 and since inception has been heavily involved in the Van Marcke Group's treasury operations, particularly in the areas of cash and li- quidity management, as well as lending and factoring. e bank provides tailor-made financ- ing solutions for SMEs and large com- panies in Malta and Belgium mainly through commercial credit facilities and factoring. It also offers retail cus- tomers online savings and term depos- its as well as mortgage lending. e sponsors for this issue are MZ In- vestment Services Ltd and Rizzo, Far- rugia & Co (Stockbrokers) Ltd. Legal counsel has been provided by Camilleri Preziosi. More information about the bond issue and the list of authorised intermediar- ies are included in the Prospectus dated 22 July 2022 which is available online: https://www.izolabank.com/mt-en/ blog/41/new-bond-issue Izola Bank launches €14,000,000 bond issue Andrew Mifsud, CEO and Executive Director of Izola Bank plc IN line with its continuous effort to promote and uphold its commitment to foster an in- clusive and equal workplace, the Central Bank of Malta, together with the Europe- an Central Bank and another 25 National Central Banks and Competent Author- ities, has officially signed the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and Sin- gle Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) Equali- ty, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Charter. is non-legally binding Charter brings together a number of National Central Banks and National Competent Author- ities in the ESCB and SSM which have voluntarily committed themselves to a set of shared principles and common goals. rough this charter, signatories pledge to make equality, diversity, and inclusion a priority and commit to a number of targets which aim to embrace and encourage all three pillars in practice. e charter is aspirational and by uniting the individual efforts of all organisations, the aim is to have a powerful impact both within specific workplaces and on a broader system-wide level. Consistent with the bank's EDI Policy and Corporate Strategic Plan, the signing of this charter is one of several measures that the bank is taking to ensure the safeguarding of all employees. In this regard, the bank aims to foster an inclusive, non-discriminatory organisation- al culture that embraces diversity of thought and celebrates each employee's distinct and unique selves. Governor Scicluna said that he is "happy to be celebrating diversity which can truly foster an inclusive and equal working envi- ronment". Central Bank reaffirms commitment to foster an inclusive and equal workplace Climate change challenges faced by maritime industry discussed in MMF – BOV seminar THE Maritime Industry is facing unprecedented challenges posed by Climate Change as it looks at de- carbonisation and expansion in a sustainable fashion, in line with reg- ulatory frameworks and ESG, Judge Emeritus Joseph Zammit McKeon, President of the Malta Maritime Fo- rum said. Zammit McKeon was addressing 'Energy Efficiency in the Maritime Sector', a seminar organised by the MMF in collaboration with Bank of Valletta. "Climate change is causing rising sea and air temperatures, shifting sea levels and an increase in frequency and magnitude of extreme marine events causing major disruptions to the operations of the industry," he said. "EU and International obligations are being gradually phased in, in an effort to meet ambitious carbon-neu- trality targets and the aim of phasing out Europe's dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Given the extraordinary circumstances the world has expe- rienced and continues to experience since the past two years, it is clear that the Maritime Industry requires appropriate financing tools and re- sources." Kenneth Farrugia, Chief Retail Banking Officer at Bank of Valletta said that banks supporting the ship- ping industry are increasingly turn- ing to energy-efficiency data when making financing decisions, a step that heralds a significant market shift. "Each vessel represents a multi-mil- lion-dollar investment and ship own- ers and operators rely on financing from banks to ensure they can build, upgrade, and maintain them," he said. "is means that Banks can exert a strong influence on the development of the market in line with ESG guide- lines." David Kerr, a member in the Cab- inet of the European Commissioner for Equality kept the members of the maritime community present abreast of the latest developments emerging from Brussels with respect to the Commission's Fit for 55 Package, the REPowerEU Plan and latest ongoing negotiations on the European and In- ternational front. Mark Scicluna Bartoli, Product Management & Development Exec- utive at BOV delivered the last pres- entation of the seminar, highlighting BOV's eco-friendly financing options and how these can be applied to the Maritime sector. "Bank of Valletta, through its ESG strategy is developing specific prod- ucts whose aim is to ease access to Finance for energy efficiency invest- ments," Scicluna Bartoli said, while presenting a pilot product focused on energy efficiency financing devel- oped jointly with the EIF. "Such a product, offering reduced interest rates and collateral obliga- tions together with a 2.5% interest rate subsidy for the first 10 years would provide much needed financ- ing to enterprises operating in the Maritime sector." e collaboration between Bank of Valletta and the Malta Maritime Fo- rum plays an important role in bring- ing all the stakeholders together and keeping them abreast of develop- ments in the sector and the banking solutions that the Bank has available in this regard whilst working hand- in-hand to sustain the success of this important economic sector.