Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1482153
2 NEWS 20.10.2022 Through the Wage Supplement Scheme, €825 million in support was provided to firms and businesses to substantially cover partial wage costs in order to reduce the burden during COVID-19 restrictions and thus, prevent redundancies. The scheme was initially launched in 2020 and tapered out up to May 2022, aimed at helping firms and businesses during the recovery period. Businesses could also apply to postpone the payment of taxes such as VAT and income tax through the tax deferral scheme. Starting from June 2022, the scheme's beneficiaries could pay the eligible taxes monthly over 30 months until the end of December 2024. During this period, the interest on the deferred tax is suspended. covid-19: liquidity support measures IN September 2022, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the Harmo- nised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) was 7.4 per cent, up from 7.0 per cent in August 2022. e 12-month moving average rate for September stood at 4.8 per cent. e largest upward impact on annual inflation was measured in the Food and non-alcoholic beverages Index (+2.04 percentage points). e HICP measures monthly price changes in the cost of purchasing a rep- resentative basket of consumer goods and services. e HICP is calculated according to rules specified in a series of European Union (EU) regulations that were de- veloped by Eurostat in conjunction with the EU Member States. e HICP is used to compare inflation rates across the EU. A closely related measure of price movements is the Re- tail Price Index (RPI). e highest annual inflation rates in September 2022 were recorded in Food and non-alcoholic beverages (11.9 per cent) and Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (9.6 per cent). On the other hand, the lowest annual inflation rates were registered in Com- munication (0.8 per cent) and Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (1.5 per cent). In September 2022, the largest up- ward impact on annual inflation was registered in the Food and non-alcohol- ic beverages Index (+2.04 percentage points), largely due to higher prices of pasta products. e second and third largest impacts were measured in the Restaurants and hotels Index (+1.31 percentage points) and the Transport Index (+0.94 per- centage points), mainly on account of higher prices of restaurant services and car maintenance services respectively. No downward impacts on annual in- flation were registered for the month of September. In August, the annual rate of change registered by the Maltese HICP All- items was 7.0 per cent, 2.1 percentage points lower than the 9.1 per cent regis- tered for the euro area. e annual rate of change for the Mal- tese All- items HICP excluding energy and unprocessed food was 7.3 per cent, 1.8 percentage points higher than the 5.5 per cent registered for the euro area. HICP annual rate of inflation up 7.4 per cent in September FIMBank announces new, market leading interest rates 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 5.8 2.6 June 1.0 1.3 0.2 0.3 6.1 3.1 July 0.7 1.2 0.3 0.3 6.8 3.7 August 0.7 1.1 0.4 0.2 7.0 4.3 September 0.5 1.0 0.7 0.3 7.4 4.8 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 In September 2022, the largest upward impact on annual inflation was registered in the Food and non-alcoholic beverages Index (+2.04 percentage points), largely due to higher prices of pasta products. The second and third largest impacts were measured in the Restaurants and hotels Index (+1.31 percentage points) and the Transport Index (+0.94 percentage points), mainly on account of higher prices of restaurant services and car maintenance services respectively (Chart 2). On the other hand, no downward impacts on annual inflation were registered for the month of September (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: September 2022 2020 0.04 0.06 0.11 0.14 0.16 0.39 0.58 0.72 0.92 0.94 1.31 2.04 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00 2.20 Communication Alcoholic beverages and tobacco Education Health Clothing and footwear Miscellaneous goods and services Recreation and culture Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels Transport Restaurants and hotels Food and non-alcoholic beverages percentage points Contribution to the annual inflation rate by the 12 main divisions: September 2022 FIMBANK plc has announced new and market leading interest rates for its Euro fixed term deposits, for retail customers. is latest development continues to en- hance the Bank's value proposition as it sustains its local roots to become more relevant to the Maltese market. e rates for retail customers start at 0.70% for three month deposits, going up to 0.75% per annum for the six month option, and rising to 1.40% for fixed term deposits of one year. ree year term de- posits carry an interest rate of 1.60%. All interest rates are on a gross per annum basis. An account may be opened via the Ea- sisave portal by accessing www.easisave. com. Easisave offers these market leading interest rates and would require a mini- mum amount of EUR 1,000 to open a fixed term deposit. An account on easisave. com can still be opened without having a fixed term deposit in place and clients can benefit from a competitive interest rate of 0.4% per annum. e easisave.com portal allows clients to open an account without visiting the Bank, enabling convenience. Clients may opt to open a FIMBank Classic Fixed Term Deposit where cus- tomers can schedule an appointment to visit the Bank's head office in the central area of St. Julian's. e minimum amount for a FIMBank Classic Fixed Term De- posit is that of EUR 10,000. Apart from the market leading inter- est rates, FIMBank is now offering Mal- tese residents the convenience where the Bank's representatives collect the account opening documentation directly from one's home or office, rather than having to send documents through the postal ser- vice. is service applies for those wish- ing to open an Easisave account, as those opening a FIMBank Classic Fixed Term Deposit will have the documentation set- tled at the Bank's head office. For the various fixed term deposit op- tions available, the Bank is also offering a welcome bonus of EUR 25 which is appli- cable for new customers only. Terms and conditions can be viewed on either of the Bank's websites www.fimbank.com and www.easisave.com. FIMBank plc is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority and is listed on the Malta Stock Exchange. The Bank's registered address is Mercury Tower, The Exchange Financial and Business Centre, Elia Zammit Street, St Julian's STJ 3155, Malta. The Bank is licensed to undertake the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act 1994 (Cap. 371). FIMBank plc is a participant of the Depositor Compensation Scheme in Malta. Easisave savings accounts can be opened with a minimum of EUR50/USD50. Easisave Fixed Term Deposits may be opened with a minimum of EUR 1,000/USD1,000. FIMBank Classic Fixed Term Deposits can be opened with a minimum of EUR10,000. Terms and conditions apply and are available on request. Early withdrawal is prohibited. Term Deposits can be opened with a minimum of EUR10,000. Terms and conditions apply and are available on request. Early withdrawal is prohibited.