Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/478858
Events 26 maltatoday, Sunday, 15 March 2015 The FIMBank Group's Consoli- dated Audited Financial State- ments for 2014, published on the 11th March 2015, show consider- able growth in the Group's Bal- ance Sheet during that year, with Consolidated Assets as at 31 De- cember 2014 standing at USD1.41 billion, an increase of 14% over the USD1.24 billion reported at end 2013. Consolidated Liabilities stood at USD1.23 billion, an in- crease of 13% over end-2013. Net Operating Income increased at both Group and Bank level, helped by markedly improved net interest margins, contrasted by weaker net fee income. In fact, Net Interest In- come rose by 77.9%, from USD 15.9 million to USD 28.4 million, while Net Fee and Commission income decreased by 9.3%, from USD 22.9 million to USD 20.76 million. Bank customer deposits increased by 19.8%, from USD 414 million in 2013, to USD 496 million in 2014. However, 2014 created signifi- cant challenges for some of the Group's international business, with a combination of economic issues, adverse market conditions and credit defaults leaving their mark. Consequently, FIMBank experienced significant impair- ment events across various Group entities, making the year one of the most challenging in FIM- Bank's existence. As a result, the Group registered an after-tax loss of USD45.23 million, compared to a loss of USD4.22 million in 2013. Commenting on developments in 2014, Acting CEO Simon Lay said that "The prolonged geo-political tensions in Eastern Europe contin- ued to increase economic uncer- tainty in Russia, which impacted our operations in this country; this happened in conjunction with credit impairments in a number of other markets." Elaborating on the principal factors which affected FIMBank's financial performance in 2014, Lay explained that "The Group's positive operating results were completely wiped out by im- pairments of USD 51 million, ema- nating particularly from India and Russia, but also from FIMBank's solo performance. Nonetheless, Group liquidity remains strong, while capital adequacy, measured in terms of Basle III/CRD 4 re- quirements, stood at 13.8% for To- tal Capital, of which 13.3% is Tier 1 - significantly above the minimum regulatory requirements." Reflecting on FIMBank's strengths and prospects for the fu- ture, Mr Lay stated that "At FIM- Bank we have a robust global trade finance platform which places us in a strong position to capture a good share of a large global trade finance market. Resources will be deployed in a controlled man- ner towards key business sectors which offer profit potential. I am committed to leading this organi- sation towards a performance- driven culture." Lay reiterated that "For 2015 and beyond we will be focusing our energies on strengthening further our business model, including our approach to governance, risk structures and internal control ca- pabilities, as well as deploying the appropriate resources to maximise recoveries. Whilst the Group pre- viously invested heavily in the de- velopment of our global footprint, we will now be consolidating these investments in order to focus on profitability and generate returns for our shareholders." For further information about the FIMBank Group please visit www. fimbank.com. Reaping Rewards: The JA-YE Hyundai Challenge or Overcoming challenges with JA-YE and Hyundai From Bethlehem to Golgotha: Through Gharghur on Palm Sunday PM inaugurates Hamrun offices of Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Creativity, innovation and market appeal were the main topics ad- dressed during a full-day event or- ganised by the Junior Achievement (Young Enterprise) Malta Founda- tion Start Up Programme for uni- versity students who participated in the Hyundai Challenge event on Saturday 28 February, 2015. Hosted at SmartCity Malta, the participants immersed themselves in the world of business by working in teams to tackle an actual com- mercial proposition. The 'Hyundai Challenge' in fact, invited teams to present their collective ideas, sup- ported by respective budgets and re- turn on investment projections, on how they would launch and promote a particular Hyundai model. The event was attended and over- seen by Vince Sladden, General Manager at Meridien Enterprises, importers of Hyundai in Malta who addressed the students on topical business requirements related to marketing, planning and strategy. Throughout the day, various speak- ers from different corporate back- grounds and expertise shared their knowledge on how to undertake the challenge by putting together good business plans. "At Hyundai, innovation has be- come a strong pillar in its global strategy and for companies to sur- vive and remain competitive they need to appeal to their target audi- ence in effective and lasting ways. In fact we were very proud to see the active involvement of all the par- ticipating students in this Hyundai Challenge and we noted their com- mitted approach to give their best both as they prepared their business proposals as well as in the final pres- entations," added Vince Sladden. During the day event, the partici- pating university students had to compile and present a working in- vestment proposal, which is the ul- timate aim for The JA-YE Start Up Programme. The Hyundai Challenge will cul- minate in the awarding of the Bril- liant Young Entrepreneur (BYE) Award at the end of the Start Up Programme in May. The winning team will be presented with €15,000 in seed funding by Hyundai together with professional mentoring for the projects actual Start-Up. Such an event would not be pos- sible without the support of local businesses, most particularly The JA-YE Start-Up Programme busi- ness partners including HSBC Malta Foundation, Hyundai Malta, PricewaterhouseCoopers, ICAEW, Chartered Institute of Marketing, and TAKEOFF. The organisation also thanked SmartCity Malta who offered the venue in support of this initiative. SmartCity Malta CEO, Anthony Tabone said "we are proud to be hosting this challenge at SmartCity Malta. The partnership with the Hy- undai Challenge is harmonious with the SmartCity Malta philosophy of encouraging business entrepreneur- ship amongst young entrepreneurs by providing them state-of-the-art infrastructure to help them launch their start-ups. We would also like to congratulate the winners of the challenge and wish them every suc- cess in the future." When one sees a donkey the first reaction can be ei- ther a 'puff ' or 'how cute'! When one hears the words 'blessed are the poor' the first reaction may be ei- ther : 'true?!' or 'oh come on!'. When Francis of Assisi is mentioned the mind can contrast the first crib of Greccio with the stigmata on Mt Alverna. Jesus the Nazzarene is a man of contrasts. Is he someone passé or a truly holy man? But He and His followers in- sist He is 'the Son of God' – no half-ways. Dwal Godda theatre troupe presents their Holy-week pro- duction – this year: Ħmar Tas- Salib – on Palm Sunday and insists on bringing these – and other - contrasts to the fore. The setting is a rugged open- air stage across the Gharghur Church parvis … the ambi- ence is a Good Friday proces- sion which at Gharghur is held on Palm Sunday – this year on 29 March. So liturgy, folklore and drama intertwine so as to present a panorama which can be contrasted with one's per- sonal experiences. The first act: Our yearning for return to childhood innocence is brought to the fore with a traditional Christmas Carol and St Francis who is urged to re-enact his first Greccio crib. His answer – not very appeal- ing nowadays - is his call to poverty and strict adherence to Christ's teaching. It is no wonder that Francis was some- times labelled a lunatic just like that man on a donkey who was welcomed on Palm Sunday with cries of 'Osanna' but cru- cified within a couple of days. The traditional Good Friday procession gives the audience a break rarely afforded in to- day's hectic life. On stage at the beginning of the second act (about 8pm), various bibli- cal figures represented in the statues come forward contrasting their experi- ences with today's stark realities. But 'crucifix- ions' are still happening notwithstanding that A.D. is being changed and the figure of Christ side-lined during Christ- mas. While his cross is being removed from classrooms his call 'why have you forsaken me?' is still part of our jargon. Maybe we need to heed the call of Francis urging us to return to the basics. It is not always possible because – unlike the small chapel of San Damiano - what has been ruined can be very difficult to restore. Entrance for this open-air event is free; there are no re- served seats and the audience follows standing up so as to be able to 'change position' - or give a helping hand in what is going on. Various exhibitions and 'art in action', along the procession's winding road en- hance this unique 'experience'. Parts of the script are in English so that tourists can also 'par- ticipate' during this interesting cultural evening – a fitting in- troduction to Holy week. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this afternoon of- ficially inaugurated the offices of Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors in Hamrun. In the presence of the Leader of the oppo- sition Simon Busuttil, the Minister of Finance Ed- ward Scicluna, Parliamen- tary Secretary Jose Herrera and a number of members of parliament, the Prime Minister spoke about the development of the finan- cial services sector. Managing Director, Jes- mond Mizzi spoke about the evolution of the compa- ny over the years. He stated that five years ago Jesmond Mizzi Financial Services and Atlas Investment Serv- ices agreed to merge. Atlas Investment Services was set up in 1996 while Jesmond Mizzi Financial Services was launched in 2002. In 2012 the company re- branded under the name of Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors with a clear focus on the word 'Advisors' – because that is what we are, Mizzi stated. Today the company em- ploys 21 people and oper- ate from 5 locations around Malta. Together with Atlas Insurance, the company of- fers a one-stop shop in our shared premises. Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors provides personal advice and endeavours to be of service to the Mal- tese investor via independ- ent research and an open architecture culture. The company endeavours to educate the Maltese pub- lic and invests in so doing, as the directors believe that all investors should be aware of what investing is all about. This year the company intends to launch invest- ment products, which will be managed internally both for local investors but also for investors outside of Malta. Furthermore it is aiming to provide new investment services for investors who are seeking discretionary services from investment advisors. The company is looking forward to employing more staff to continue with its growth process. Mizzi highlighted the fact that investors and particu- larly pensioners are finding it harder and harder to earn decent returns with low risk. He added that maybe it is time that Government gives priority to pension- ers in any future govern- ment bond issues so that they do not chase yield at the expense of adding on risk. This in the light of the very strong demand for the government stock issue last month. The Prime Minister em- braced the recommenda- tion and added that the Government will study this recommendation after due regulatory and legal con- sideration. Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Ltd is licensed to conduct investment serv- ices by the Malta Financial Services Authority and a Member of the Malta Stock Exchange and a Member of the Atlas Group. FIMBank announces results for 2014 From left, Stephan Borg, Elisa Calleja, Vince Sladden, General Manager at Meridian Enterprises, Donna Camilleri and Anatoliy Gatt