Malta's slide down an index of financial centres around the world was "worrying" and confirmed that Panama Papers fallout had tarnished Malta's reputation in the sector, Chris Said argued this morning.
The Nationalist Party leadership candidate was referring to the Zyen Global Financial Services Index, which placed Malta 85th out of 92 countries - a slide of eight places since last March.
The index is compiled using 102 instrumental factors, ranging from price competitiveness and business environment, to risk and corruption.
Dr Said argued that the sector's vital importance to Malta's economy meant that the government could not take the report lightly.
"Should [the financial services sector's] attractiveness continue to slip, thousands of jobs and the country's economic well-being will be in jeopardy," he said.
He also linked the report findings to his campaign to become PN leader, saying that this weekend's election was all about reputation.
"If we lose our reputation, the results would be catastrophic. This applies to the financial services industry as much as it applies to the Nationalist Party," he said.