The parliamentary public appointments committee on Monday voted to approve the appointment of former finance minister Edward Scicluna as governor of the Central Bank.

The Opposition objected to the nomination and called a division.

Prof Scicluna resigned as finance minister after the budget, having served in that post since 2013.

On Monday he was questioned for two hours, with opposition MPs criticising him for not having acted to safeguard Malta's reputation. Scicluna insisted that he had always acted correctly as a minister but could not interfere in the independent operation of institutions such as the MFSA and the FIAU.

Scicluna becomes governor of the Central Bank on January 1, succeeding Mario Vella, who is being appointed to the new position of Special Commissioner for Economic, Financial and Trade Relations with the United Kingdom.

As Central Bank Governor, Scicluna will also sit on the governing council of the European Central Bank.

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