Three UK nationals with experience in the financial services market are set to take up senior positions within the MFSA’s supervisory area, namely banking supervision, financial crime compliance and conduct supervision.
The Malta Financial Services Authority said in a statement on Friday that is was strengthening its organisational capacity by creating new operational and supervisory functions which include risk management, supervisory ICT and cybersecurity risk, financial crime compliance, data management & business intelligence, FinTech, and programme management.
David Eacott will be MFSA’s new head of banking supervision. He will be taking over from Catherine Galea who has been appointed head of (supervisory) quality assurance, as more focus is needed in this area in line with European Central Bank recommendations.
Anthony Eddington will be the new head of financial crime compliance while Emily Benson will take up the role of head of conduct, taking over from Michelle Mizzi Buontempo who has been appointed chief officer for enforcement and will now form part of the MFSA’s executive committee.
The composition of the MFSA’s executive committee was completed with the engagement of Ivan Zammit as chief operations officer in January.
Meanwhile, Marianne Scicluna who currently occupies the position of chief officer for supervision will be availing herself of a one-year career break from the MFSA to pursue an opportunity within a regulatory authority in a foreign jurisdiction.
As a result, Christopher Buttigieg and Michael Xuereb will be taking up the roles of chief officer for supervision and for strategy, policy and innovation respectively.
Angele Galea St John, who held the role of head of authorisations will be pursuing her career in the private sector after 25 years of service at the MFSA.
New Due Diligence function
A new function is being set up to focus solely on probity, intelligence gathering, due-diligence and ongoing monitoring of fit and properness of people while operating in the financial services sector.
The authority is investing in more technology, information systems and process enhancements, along with human resources and improved skillsets, to increase the effectiveness and robustness of due diligence.
Authorisation process
The licensing and authorisation process within the authority is set for an overhaul with the merging of sectoral authorisations (such as banking and financial institutions, insurance and pensions) into their respective supervisory functions.
This merge will ensure a more streamlined and efficient approach throughout the lifecycle of each entity falling within the oversight of the MFSA.
The authority will also be publishing a service level charter by the end of the first quarter of 2020, outlining target timeframes and procedures for each licensing and authorisation application.