Rita Schembri assumes Deputy Governor role at Central Bank of Malta

Rita Schembri, a long-time central banker with more than two decades of experience, has been appointed Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy of the Central Bank of Malta.

Her appointment is for a five-year term starting from 14th January 2026.

Ms Schembri most recently served as Head of the Economic Analysis Department since 2018. In this role, she was responsible for overseeing the analysis of economic developments in Malta and the euro area, contributing to the bank’s principal economic publications, and coordinating economic projection exercises, including those related to public finances.

Her responsibilities also included the Business Dialogue Survey and, until recently, the Household Finance and Consumption Survey.

She previously held the position of Manager within the same department from 2011 onwards.

At a European level, Ms Schembri has represented the Central Bank of Malta for several years on the European Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, as well as on a number of its substructures, particularly those focused on fiscal and macroeconomic projections.

Locally, she has represented the bank on several fora, including the Malta Statistics Authority and the Building Industry Consultative Council, and currently serves as the Bank’s alternate member on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD).

Ms Schembri joined the Central Bank of Malta in 1999 as a research economist within the Governor’s Office, later forming part of the External Relations Office. In this capacity, she supported senior management on Malta’s engagement with international financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Economics from the University of Malta, as well as a Master of Science in Financial Economics from the Centre for Financial and Management Studies, part of SOAS, University of London.

Prime Minister Robert Abela welcomed the appointment in a post on X (formerly Twitter), describing it as “the highest financial sector position ever occupied by a Maltese woman in Malta’s history.” He added that Ms Schembri’s appointment will “continue to address gender imbalance in Eurosystem monetary policy formulation.”