Customers of the long-shuttered Nemea Bank could be one step closer to finally recovering all their money, after a list of creditors was published on The Malta Government Gazette as part of the liquidation process. 

Depositors and other bank creditors are owed over €13 million, although the amount is skewed by one creditor with an outstanding balance of €10 million.

A total of €35 million had previously been paid out under the depositor compensation scheme, a rescue fund that covers deposits of up to €100,000 at a failed bank.

The online bank was placed under the control of administrators in April 2016, after regulators found serious shortcomings in the way it was being run.

Former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi was one of the bank’s directors at the time.

Liquidation stalled

The bank’s liquidation has long been stalled by pending appeals against its closure. The bank’s licence was formally withdrawn by the European Central Bank in 2017.  Nemea, which operated out of Portomaso in St Julian’s, began accepting deposits in 2011. 

Accountant Michael Spiteri Bailey was appointed by the financial regulator last November as the bank’s administrator, taking over from PwC.

Spiteri Bailey was tasked with winding up and liquidating the bank.

Nemea is one of three banks currently under the control of an MFSA-appointed administrator.

Pilatus Bank had its licence pulled by the ECB in November 2018 and remains under the control of an administrator.

Satabank was placed under EY’s control in October 2018 after mounting concerns about the bank’s anti-money laundering controls led to regulatory action.