The Maltese financial services sector grew 9.5 per cent in 2018 over the previous year, according to Malta Financial Services Authority.

Last year the MFSA registered a further 144 new entities, bringing the number of entities licensed by the MFSA up to over 2,300.

When taking the ancillary services linked to the financial services sector into account, the sector now contributes 11.6 per cent of Gross Value Added (GVA), making it one of the highest-ranking contributors to the Maltese economy.

The MFSA's annual report found that at the end of 2018, the sector employed more than 12,000 people - 1,000 of which were new jobs generated last year.

This brings the share of local employment within the financial services sector up to 5.3 per cent, almost double that recorded for other member states of the European Union, which stands at 2.9 per cent.

Apart from providing an overview of the activities and work carried out by the MFSA, together with details about the industry’s performance last year, the annual report also lays out the authority’s vision for the coming years.

The following are some of the key elements of the MFSA’s activity during the year under review:

• Carried out a major restructuring exercise to strengthen the Authority’s organisational capability and prepare it for future challenges;
• Coming into force of the Virtual Financial Assets (VFA) Act in November 2018;
• Regulatory action against Pilatus Bank and Satabank plc for prudential and AML/CFT breaches;
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) to enhance collaboration and improve the intensity of AML/CFT on-site inspections;

The MFSA Annual Report and Financial Statements can be downloaded from here.