Leo Brincat, the Malta Development Bank’s new chairman, has declared that he intends to prioritise outreach for the Bank.

“Stepping up the MDB’s outreach will be my top priority,” he stated, elaborating that in doing so the bank will consolidate its inherent strengths of the past six years, by widening and diversifying its client base and the range of services offered while sticking to its legal remit. In doing so the bank will not be encroaching on the activities of the commercial banking sector on the island. 

“We were always meant to complement each other, not to compete with one another. That is how it was always intended  to be, and that is the way it will be,  regardless of any qualitative leaps that may be achieved in the near future and the medium term.”

Brincat stressed that although he has a non-executive role and is a strong believer in a collegial team effort, it is high time that the bank evolved its strategic framework as set out on its new website into a concisely worded strategy document in the public domain that should foster better, wider and deeper understanding of the activities that the bank focuses on as well as on those that do not fall under its remit.

Many economic operators hardly find time to read through annual reports of any organisation, and MDB is surely no exception. 

“At a time when many still have a nebulous idea – as in many other European jurisdictions -  as to what a national development bank should or should not do, it is imperative for our bank to make its organisational setup, services and activities stand out. Even more so when public awareness of the Bank’s culture and unique profile in Malta’s financial sector is still very little known,“ he added.

“This is something I have experienced personally in the past few weeks when coming across key decision-makers in both the corporate and public sectors. But I am confident that by pooling our thoughts together as a board of directors it is an issue that can and will shortly be resolved positively for the Bank’s benefit.

“Our outreach, the success of which will also depend on proactive and continuous collaboration and networking with all the key constituted bodies on the island, must combine a full and strong knowledge of our vision in full awareness of the Bank’s strategy, products and market.”

“It should also depend more on understanding which of the community’s needs can be better addressed by the bank within our remit, particularly when it comes to SMEs.”

“Further to this one must add those initiatives where we may have a role to play as agents for the Ministry of Finance and/or the Managing Authority. All of this is within the remit laid down in the Malta Development Bank Act, the remit established by the European Commission, and the State Aid regime in the EU. “

 “I think that as a wholesale bank, we must take a hard look at what other development banks are doing in the digitalisation and AI sectors. In today’s rapidly evolving world, AI is transforming various industries and banking is no exception. In many EU jurisdictions, AI has been making a profound impact on various aspects of banking, enhancing customer service, risk assessment, operational efficiency and data analytics. Any data-driven decision-making that can improve strategic planning and competitiveness must be studied at an expert and technical level “

On the niche areas he would like the bank to focus more on in the near term, Brincat explained how now that support schemes such as the Covid-19 Guarantee Scheme have run their term, the Bank needs to evolve its business model, together with new attractive but bankable schemes that are truly sustainable and in true keeping with the green and digital direction of EU financial support to Malta as an EU Member State.

“As things stand we have already started, and we are in a good position to support bankable digital and climate-related projects in tandem with the commercial banks on a case-by-case basis.”

“Given that compared to other EU jurisdictions we still have much catching up to do in the areas of  Research, Development and Innovation it would be very satisfying were we to target successfully bankable new projects in this area without exposing the bank to any undue risks.

“The same applies to ESG, upgrading environmental, social and corporate governance. It is a big positive that we now have an ESG policy and a task force in place and are working on its effective implementation. But beyond that, we must endeavour  that ideally the majority of the  new projects approved in future should also be convincingly sustainable, particularly in the infrastructural sectors.”

Brincat pledged that proactivity will remain the overriding objective of the Bank, especially in these challenging and demanding times.