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5 NEWS 22.6.2023 IN 2022, the financial industry in Malta showed positive momentum contribut- ing €1.178 billion in Gross Value Added to the economy, resulting in an increase of 4.3% over the previous year. e sector also witnessed a significant rise in employment, with over 17,000 employees working within the industry - a remarkable growth of 26% when com- pared to 2021. is data emerged from the Annu- al Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 December 2022 of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), published on Tuesday. e report looks back on a year of con- tinued resilience in the face of global challenges. is registered growth was also reflect- ed in the number of applications that the MFSA received in 2022, with some sec- tors, such as the admissibility to listing of securities, even seeing a 70% increase. e Authority received 355 applica- tions in total across all sectors during the year, 24% of which were withdrawn or refused. In 2022, the MFSA conducted a total of 674 supervisory interactions, which en- compassed a range of onsite and offsite reviews. ese included 364 meetings, six Supervisory Review and Evaluation Processes, 217 inspections, 76 thematic reviews, and 11 mystery shopping exer- cises. In line with the Authority's focus on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), 84% of the supervisory interac- tions had an AML/CFT element. In the same year, the Authority further enhanced its supervisory oversight to in- clude corporate service providers (CSPs) but also introduced two new functions specifically dedicated to overseeing capi- tal markets, and trustees and CSPs. is move allows for more focused and comprehensive supervision of these sec- tors, which were previously supervised alongside other sectors in the industry. During the year, a total of 44 enforce- ment actions were taken, amounting to €147,445 in penalties. In order to further enhance its supervi- sory capacity and effectively respond to the needs of an ever-changing financial services landscape, in 2022 the MFSA has secured participation in the EU Su- pervisory Digital Finance Academy, es- pecially ahead of the Markets in Cryp- to-Assets (MiCA) regulation coming into force. Sustainable finance is another major development affecting the sector across the board. As the world's targets for carbon neutrality draw nearer and sus- tainable finance gains more importance, last year the Authority established a sus- tainable finance policy team to guide the industry on the requirements set by EU regulations. e MFSA's Financial Supervisors Academy provided over 21,000 hours of training to the team - 16% more hours than in 2021, and with over 2,000 hours dedicated to AML/CFT specifically. In 2022 the Authority successfully completed a complex IT infrastructure architecture redesign and upgrade pro- ject to significantly improve future scala- bility, operational resilience and disaster recovery response times. e MFSA also continued to invest in its cybersecurity posture to protect its services, systems and data. As the Authority continues with its multi-year digitalisation programme, in 2022 the MFSA centralised records management, extended functionality on legacy platforms and continued re-engi- neering its processes to pave the way for the next phase of investments in infor- mation systems, in the execution of its transformation programme. 2022 has also been marked by MFSA's commitment to increasing transparency, mainly through the policies and guid- ance notes on enforcement procedures that it has published during the year. Engaging with the public also remained a top priority, having undertaken over 200 outreach initiatives in 2022 alone. Reflecting on these results, MFSA's Chairman, Jesmond Gatt, stated: "e results obtained during the year under review reflect the commitment of Mal- ta's lawmakers and the jurisdiction to support the financial services industry. e MFSA is committed to being an en- abler of sustainable, technology-enabled financial innovation within the sector." Kenneth Farrugia, MFSA's CEO, added: "I am both humbled and excited to have taken on the role of CEO at the MFSA. Looking ahead, the MFSA is steadfast in maintaining high standards, protect- ing consumers, and enhancing investor confidence. ese pillars guide the Au- thority's actions and strategic objectives outlined in our Strategic Statement, which we commit to reaching in the next three years through a set of defined mile- stones. We also believe that strengthen- ing synergies with all our stakeholders is a core enabler for ensuring the sustain- able growth of Malta's financial services sector." e MFSA's Annual Report and Finan- cial Statements for 2022 is available on the MFSA website. MFSA 2022 annual report highlights industry's continued resilience Hanging tough… A team of 10 employees from different departments within Melita Limited are going through obstacles and scaling walls in their free time as they focus their energies on a common goal — to complete next month's Grid event. As part of its drive to foster the company value of 'Together', Melita has set up a specific fund to encourage employees to come together outside the work environment and sign up for a team sport or cultural activity. Apart from supporting employees to be fit and healthy, the idea behind this fund is to foster a team spirit of good communication, decision- making, and accountability in every sphere of life.

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