Volksbank director confirmed

Volksbank Malta has announced that Werner Wess, director of the bank's executive board, has confirmed his position for another three years. Mr Wess was group chief financial controller of Österreichische Volksbanken AG in Vienna until his retirement in 2004 and is well known for his expertise in tax matters. He was behind the opening of the Volksbank branch in Malta.

"The bank was registered on September 1, 1995, as a subsidiary of Österreichische Volksbanken AG, with two Maltese directors, Godwin Muscat Azzopardi as chairman and the late Tony Galdes, and three Austrian directors - Wolfgang Perdich, Alexander Luschin and myself," Mr Wess explained. Starting off from a small office in Valletta, Volksbank moved to its current location in Sliema in July 1997. "On November 1, 2002, we were granted the licence to operate as fully commercial Maltese bank.

A new managing director Herbert Skok took over in June 2003, and we started local operations, offering current and savings accounts, loans and the full range of financial packages also to the Maltese community."

Mr Wess continues to play a very active part in the Volksbank Group: he is also chairman of the Audit committee, a position he also holds in the sister banks Volksbank BH d.d. in Bosnia and Elektron Bank in the Ukraine. He is actively involved in two other companies, Mithra Holding and VB Holding.

Today, Volksbank Malta has over 30 employees and a balance sheet sum of over €1 billion.