APS Bank: the way forward

I am sure that a lot of good can come from this APS/HSBC issue. There are those who believe that the Church does not need a bank to spread the word of God and others who feel that the Church must have the means to carry out its pastoral work. I am also sure that both groups have good intentions behind their opinion. 

The origin of APS Bank goes back to 1910 when social benefits were inexistent; when young married girls were left destitute if their husband suddenly died; when children were packed off to an orphanage; when disabled workmen lost their job and had to shift for themselves.

Michael Vella, an intrepid Jesuit priest with a social conscience, did not sit idly by. He decided to act. He set up the Unione Cattolica San Giuseppe (UCSG), a fund to put the teachings of the Gospel into practice in so far as workmen, widows and others were concerned. A lot of good was done. I cannot list here the innumerable good deeds that the fund carried out silently over many years, nor would Fr Michael have wished me to do. 

APS Bank (Apostleship of Prayer Savings Bank) is the successor of the Unione Cattolica San Giuseppe. Photo: Shutterstock.com

In 1948, due to administrative problems and probably old age, the Apostleship of Prayer Savings Bank, as the successor of the UCSG was then known, finished on the lap of the Church. The Church never planned or wished to own a bank. But mysterious are the ways of the Lord! It seems as if providence gifted a talent which had to be handed back on the day of reckoning. 

The bank was well managed and made good progress while offering advantageous lending rates for home loans. Nevertheless, low-income workers, who toil from morning till evening in the sun, still do not qualify for a loan from a commercial bank to buy basic accommodation, which should be a social right. And this despite the constant trumpet-blowing that the economy was never so strong. 

The Church has still work to do in this regard. There are ideas which can be implemented for the benefit of the emarginated. It is not the time to sell the bank or to bury this talent in the soil. On the other hand, buying HSBC might relegate APS bank into a minority partner without the necessary clout to influence decisions sufficiently. He who gives up his position in the driving seat would find himself in a place where he would not have wished to be.

Buying HSBC would look like a negotiated financial transaction aimed at making more profit. This is quite different from the circumstances when the UCSG was transferred to the Church. 

In my opinion, APS Bank as the successor of UCSG, should take a step back from this HSBC venture and concentrate instead on how best it can utilise the dividends from APS, perhaps through a foundation or other methods. 

With a bank and land in its portfolio, the Church is in a pole position to reach out to couples who wish to start a family and need a loan but cannot meet the eligibility requirements stipulated by the commercial banks. There are other ideas that can help the less fortunate. 

Whichever way forward APS takes, I sincerely wish that this will be a testament to the vision and initiative of Fr Michael Vella SJ. The bank should dedicate its efforts to continue the good work he started. We have a duty to keep his memory alive. 

Despite the affluent society we are living in, those in need of a helping hand, who are in a socially difficult and piteous condition, are more numerous than ever.

Joe Pace Ross – Sliema