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4 NEWS 22.6.2023 MEDIRECT Malta has launched MeMax, an innovative instant access savings account offering an attractive interest rate of 2 per cent per annum, which is paid monthly. Existing customers can open a Me- Max account in a few simple steps through their app or online banking. New customers can use MeDirect's straightforward online process to ap- ply to become customers. Pawel Malukiewicz, Group Head – Channels & Customer Experience at MeDirect, said, "By paying out interest at the end of each month. MeMax is changing the game when it comes to instant access savings accounts in Mal- ta. While giving savers the opportuni- ty to benefit from higher interest rates, MeDirect is also offering customers the flexibility of not having to tie up their money for long time periods. MeDirect continues to democratise finance, using technology and innova- tion to provide benefits to all our cus- tomers, regardless of their net wealth." Every MeDirect customer will be able to open one MeMax account, de- nominated in Euro, and deposit up to €2,000 per month up to a maximum account balance of €50,000. e launch of the MeMax savings account is the second product innova- tion launched by MeDirect in 2023. At the start of the year, MeDirect be- came the first and only bank in Malta to offer an online Discretionary Port- folio Management Service to retail customers. MeManaged gives cus- tomers the opportunity to have their investment portfolio actively man- aged, a service normally only available to high-net-worth individuals, with a minimum investment of just €100. Ingrid Micallef, Head – Products & Marketing at MeDirect Malta, said, "As Malta's first digital bank, MeDirect continues to develop its online plat- form and mobile application to make banking and investment services easily available to all our customers. At the same time, we have an exciting array of product innovations, including Me- Max, which can be accessed easily and without the need for significant initial sums. We are confident that receiving interest payments monthly will prove popular among savers." More information on MeMax can be found on MeDirect's website at https:// www.medirect.com.mt/save/me-max. MeDirect's new MeMax savings account offers high flexibility whilst paying interest monthly MeDirect's MeMax Savings Account is offering an attractive interest rate of 2 per cent per annum paid monthly A group of 26 BOV employees recently completed courses of studies through the Institute of Financial Services Malta. e successful employees were invited to the IFS Malta Graduation ceremony pre- sided over by Professor Frank Bezzina, Acting President of Malta. BOV employees qualified in various disciplines, including the Award in Mal- tese Financial Regulation, the Diploma for Financial Advisors, the ICA Diploma in Anti Money Laundering as well as the recently launched Award in Environ- mental, Social & Corporate Governance (ESG). Bezzina, together with IFS President Kenneth B Micallef presented certifi- cates to the successful students, whilst Ray Debattista, on behalf of BOV's Peo- ple and Culture, presented the BOV Prize to Robert Spiteri, who emerged as the top candidate for the ESG Award. IFS Malta President, Kenneth B Mi- callef thanked Bank of Valletta for its support and explained the Institute's role in fostering financial services education. "IFS Malta is focused on actively sup- porting banking and financial services practitioners and students through the provision of specialized academic qual- ifications and training. e Institute is a licensed education organisation that facilitates, delivers, and awards Further and Higher Education programmes in the area of financial services. e Insti- tute has key alliances in place with re- nowned local and foreign professional educational bodies such as the Universi- ty of Malta and the London Institute of Banking and Finance through which it provides high-calibre training courses to satisfy the needs of the ever-developing financial services sector." Debattista explained that "at Bank of Valletta we strongly believe in continued investment in our people, improving ex- pertise and professionalism to continue building long-term working relation- ships with our customers. We are also delighted to witness our people explor- ing new areas of expertise. is year, 13 of our people were among those who studied for the Award in ESG, an area which features highly in the Bank's pri- orities given the Bank's commitment to- wards ESG principles." Debattista also explained how the bank supports its employees in furthering their studies. "We appreciate the fact that our people strive hard to develop personally, and we understand the sacri- fice in balancing personal life and work. We continually encourage our people to invest in career progression and we do this by offering tangible support through study grants with external educational institutions such as IFS Malta." ese grants supplement the cours- es and ongoing training that the Bank provides internally through its Learning and Development Centre, a learning hub that offers a broad spectrum of courses for employees, with several courses rec- ognised by the Malta Further & Higher Education Authority, that also qualify under the Maltese Qualified Framework in MQF Levels 5/6. e Bank has also recently revamped its e-learning platform, investing in tech- nology to offer alternative learning op- portunities. BOV employees graduate through IFS Malta The 26 bank employees with IFS President Kenneth B Micallef, Professor Frank Bezzina, Acting President of Malta, and Ray Debattista, on behalf of BOV's People and Culture

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