‘BOV remains strongly committed to adapting to market dynamics’ – CEO Kenneth Farrugia

On Thursday (today), Bank of Valletta (BOV)’s CEO Kenneth Farrugia highlighted that the bank “will remain committed to adapting its business and operational model to market dynamics, continue driving innovation across products, services and processes and foster an organisation-wide culture of service excellence.”

His comments were made after the bank announced a pre-tax profit of €223.7 million.

Mr Farrugia said that these results reflect the bank’s efforts towards sustained growth and progress, and they have continued to invest in technology, business process reengineering and above all, the customer experience, as part of its medium-to-long term transformation strategy.

The group’s operating income increased from €315.9 million to €359.2 million compared to the same period in 2023. This is reflected in a 14.5 per cent rise in Net Interest Income and a 5.4 per cent increase in Net Fee and Commission income over the same period in 2023.

The credit portfolio has also shown growth, resulting in a 9.1 per cent increase primarily due to sustained growth across all segments including business loans, home loans and personal loans.

Mr Farrugia said that BOV has also made “considerable progress” in its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) journey, setting ambitious emissions reduction targets, aligning with the latest reporting standards, and taking the leading role in influencing local businesses to transition to green.

“We have also been active on the personal front, with the launch of our Green Home First and Green Home Plus loan products,” he added.

BOV Chairman Gordon Cordina also expressed satisfaction on the bank’s sustained performance.

He said that BOV has adopted strategies to ensure sustained growth in its core business areas, strengthening its balance sheet position, managing costs, improving operational efficiency, while focusing on customer centricity and sustainable growth.

“These results follow the recent announcement of an interim cash dividend of €0.0924 gross per share, as well as the €100 million 5 per cent unsecured subordinated bond issue that closed within two days of launch following overwhelming response by investors,” he said.

Speaking about the economic scenario, Dr Cordina commented that, “the latest economic statistics and forecasts point to relatively benign conditions in Malta, with positive effects on the bank’s business development initiatives and the quality of its assets.”

Looking ahead, Dr Cordina said that the bank will “continue to sustain economic growth” with a wider development context of increasing productivity and investment in ESG dimensions, which are fundamental for longer-term business competitiveness and credit quality”.

Both Dr Cordina and Mr Farrugia thanked customers, shareholders, and employees for their continued support and commitment to the bank as it supports the growth and development of Malta’s economy and seeks to achieve its overarching goal of being the bank of choice and employer of choice in Malta.