Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545722
6 COMMERCIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JULY 2026 Malta continues to stregthen its family office proposition around governance and credibility AS family offices become increas- ingly mobile across jurisdictions, relocation decisions are being shaped less by optimisation and more by governance and long- term institutional credibility. "The defining consideration is no longer tax-efficiency, but where govern- ance, investment decision-making and asset servicing can most ef- fectively be anchored over gener- ations," say CLARE FARRUGIA and CONRAD CASSAR TORRE- GIANI. Malta has long offered private wealth and fiduciary services, but family offices have only recently become a formal strategic focus when the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council, which manages the national strategy for financial services, identified Single Family Offices as a new opportunity area for Malta. In November 2024, the MFSA updated its regulatory framework to facilitate the establishment of Single-Family Offices in Malta through amendments to the In- vestment Services Rules for Noti- fied Professional Investor Funds and related due diligence service providers, as well as to the trustees of Family Trusts Rulebook. This shift reflected how high- net-worth families are increasingly prioritising regulatory clarity, EU alignment and structural adapt- ability over scale or volume when selecting where to establish them- selves or a component of their ac- tivities. Within this context, Malta has been framing its proposition as an alternative European platform capable of accommodating com- plex cross-border structures. Clare Farrugia, MFSA's head of strategy, policy and innovation notes that while financial optimisa- tion and regulatory compliance re- main foundational considerations, they are no longer the dominant force shaping jurisdictional choice. "Ultra-high-net-worth families are thinking far more strategically about multi-generational govern- ance, asset protection, succession planning and risk diversification. They are seeking jurisdictions that can support bespoke structures while allowing appropriate levels of control, oversight and flexibili- ty aligned with family governance models. Malta is well positioned to offer this through the structures available within its framework." Farrugia notes how modern fam- ily office portfolios have become increasingly complex, with greater exposure to private and alternative investments and globally diversi- fied assets who therefore require jurisdictions that facilitate efficient structuring and capital deploy- ment without unnecessary opera- tional friction. "Today, the focus is not simply on tax efficiency, but on jurisdictions combining operation- al efficiency, international credibil- ity and EU market alignment. In this sense, Malta's positioning is anchored in regulatory credibility rather than tax competition alone," explains Ms Farrugia. At a recent conference, Malta's regulatory positioning was framed as "light-touch" but Ms Farrugia disagrees. "We prefer referring to our regulation as proportionate and risk-based, designed to facilitate efficiency without compromis- ing alignment with EU regulato- ry frameworks and international standards on AML/CFT and tax transparency." "Within an EU regulatory envi- ronment, compliance thresholds are non-negotiable, and that cred- ibility with international banks, custodians and auditors, ultimate- ly defines whether a jurisdiction is operationally viable. Regulatory flexibility is only effective when it is underpinned by credibility. If regulation falls short of expecta- tions, it will be the market partici- pants themselves who will impose constraints that can erode the in- tended flexibility of the system," she added. This approach is par- ticularly relevant given that Malta's framework targets families above a certain wealth threshold in line with the country's renewed strat- egy to target quality over quantity investment. "We stopped chasing volumes. We're focusing on sophisticated private capital and genuinely in- stitutional-quality family office structures. Malta's framework can accommodate complex cross-bor- der wealth structures and incor- porates explicit wealth thresholds and eligibility criteria. This shows our clear strategic focus on sophis- ticated private capital, rather than volume-driven participation." Conrad Cassar Torregiani, Part- ner at Deloitte and head of the MFSAC Working Group for fam- ily offices, frames Malta's role in a broader European context and notes that while it does not match larger global centres in scale, Malta is steadily emerging as a credible EU-based alternative for families seeking regulatory certainty, struc- tural flexibility and predictability of outcomes. He explained that Mal- ta's value proposition is not limited to wholesale relocation of family offices and in many cases, family offices may seek to extend their reach by establishing a presence in Malta while retaining existing operational bases elsewhere. This allows families to optimise for cost efficiency, regulatory alignment or proximity to specific markets without necessarily disrupting established infrastructure or rela- tionships. "The Malta proposition is not necessarily limited to persons look- ing to establish a new single-family office but extends to single-family offices looking to establish a pres- ence outside their home country." A key feature of this model is its compatibility with external ecosys- tems. "Family offices established in Malta are not required to replace their existing banks, custodians or advisers but can continue working with established international part- ners while benefiting from Malta's EU-based regulatory framework as long as they are prepared to es- tablish the required level of local presence necessary to service and support the functions, risk and assets allocated to Malta. This re- duces operational disruption while allowing access to the benefits of the Maltese platform." However, he also stresses that jurisdictional competitiveness cannot be assessed solely on legal structuring efficiency and that the success of a family office juris- diction is rarely determined by a single factor. "Without access to private banking, investment exper- tise, custodial infrastructure and specialist advisory capability, even well-designed regulatory frame- works risk becoming operationally incomplete." Farrugia and Cassar Torregiani acknowledged that the sector's most significant constraint is not regulatory design but specialist tal- ent. "We already have a very strong financial and professional services base but requirements of family offices have become increasingly complex. With the right talent, so- phistication of our ecosystem will be the key differentiator." "This is the eventual transition that the sector will go through. Ef- ficiency alone is no longer enough. We need to remain competitive while continuing to evolve into a highly capable and internationally credible platform for estate plan- ning, wealth management and long-term stewardship of private capital," they concluded. Left to right: Clare Farrugia and Conrad Cassar Torregiani Two BOV visa cardholders get to live the FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ dream TWO BOV Visa Cardholders, together with their respective guests, were presented with an all-inclusive VIP package to ex- perience the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in the USA thanks to Vi- sa. The winners were drawn at the end of the BOV Visa Spend and Win FIFA World Cup™ cam- paign, which ran from 16 Febru- ary to 26 April 2026. The lucky winners were presented with their prizes during an event held at the Ta' Qali National Stadi- um. The 1st prize winner, Capt. Alex Muscat Sciortino, won an all-inclusive 4-night stay in a 4-star accommodation in New York and two Category 1 tick- ets for the highly anticipated Fi- nal Match, which will be played at the New Jersey Stadium in New York on Sunday 19th July. The 2nd prize winner, Ms Fleur Marie Ghirxi, won a 5-night all-inclusive package in a 4-star accommodation in Miami, and two Category 1 tickets for two Group Stage Matches. Whilst congratulating the win- ners, BOV Chief Personal and Wealth Officer, Mr Simon Azz- opardi, thanked Visa for giving this opportunity to BOV cus- tomers. "Visa, apart from sup- porting one of the biggest foot- ball events in the world, such as the FIFA World Cup™, supports us every day with simplified and secure payments. To be eligible, participants needed to use their Visa cards more than 25 times during the promotion period, and our winners got their first- hand experience of that conven- ience and peace of mind that Visa payments can offer, both through the wide range of physi- cal credit and debit cards availa- ble, as well as through the digital wallet solution." Attending the presentation to the winners, apart from the Bank's Chief Personal & Wealth Officer, were BOV's Head of E-Banking Unit, Mr Chris Dega- briele, BOV's Head of Marketing & Product Lifecycle, Mr Daniel Magrin, and Visa Country Man- ager for Malta, Mr David Farru- gia. With the 4-year wait now of- ficially over, FIFA World Cup 2026™ is currently running across Mexico, USA and Cana- da. This year's edition is the big- gest and most exciting to date, with a record 104 fixtures played over a period of 39 days and with 48 national teams competing.