Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
PETER J BALDACCHINO
Head, Strategy at the Department of Accountancy,
University of Malta
Bio Note
Peter J Baldacchino is Head of Department and Senior Lecturer–Auditing and Financial
Strategy at the Department of Accountancy, University of Malta. He is a Chartered Certified
Accountant and is a research postgraduate of Loughborough Business School. His academic
research interests and publications in refereed journals have a small-state perspective and
mostly focus on internal and external auditing, its regulation and relationship to corporate
governance and financial strategy. Mr Baldacchino is also a member of the Maltese
Accountancy Board, and of its Quality Assurance Oversight Committee. Furthermore, he has
extensive experience in the financial reporting, internal auditing and governance and
directorship of Maltese banks, telecommunication companies and co-operatives. At present he
also holds positions as Director of a Group of companies while past positions included that of
Chairman of Group Audit and Risk Management Committees.
E-mail address: peter.j.baldacchino@um.edu.mt
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
CHRISTINE BALZAN,
Senior Economist, Central Bank of Malta
Bio Note
Ms. Christine Balzan is currently employed as a senior Economist with the Central Bank of Malta and
works in the Financial Stability Department. Her main duties include the construction and calibration
of risk models as well as stress testing models. She attained her Masters Degree in Economics at the
University of Malta.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
GEOFFREY BEZZINA
Director, Consumer Complaints Unit,
Malta Financial Services Authority
Bio Note
Geoffrey Bezzina is Director, Consumer Complaints Unit at the Malta Financial Services Authority
(MFSA). He is also the Authority’s Consumer Complaints Manager. The law gives the Complaints
Manager the function to investigate complaints on financial services transactions from private
customers. The Consumer Complaints Unit is also responsible for the provision of consumer
education and information about financial services and to answer queries from the public on financial
services in general.
Mr Bezzina has been an official of the MFSA (then Malta Financial Services Centre) since September
1995. He has edited and co-ordinated the Authority’s publications aimed towards educating the
consumer on various aspects of financial services. He is also a frequent guest on local radio and TV
stations.
He is also the secretary of the Compensation Schemes Management Committee responsible for the
management and administration of the Investor Compensation and the Depositor Compensation
Schemes in Malta, and the secretary of the Protection and Compensation Fund Management
Committee, an insurance guarantee fund.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
MIGUEL BORG
Executive Head, Risk Management, Bank of Valletta Group,
University of Malta
Bio Note
Miguel Borg occupies the position of Executive Head – Risk Management at the Bank of Valletta
Group. He is responsible for the implementation of the enterprise risk management framework and for
the management of the main material risks within the Group. Previously, he occupied the position of
Group Risk Consultant with the Bank.
Prior to his employment in the private sector, he was employed with the Financial Stability Office at
the Central Bank of Malta. His responsibilities included macro stress testing, quantitative risk
modelling, liquidity risk management and banking regulation.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
MALCOLM BRAY
Manager, Financial Stability, Surveillance,
Assessment and Data Office
Central Bank of Malta
Bio Note
Mr Malcolm Bray graduated in economics and banking & finance from the University of Malta and
read for a Master of Science in Economics at the University of York (UK). His main areas of interest
are macroeconomic analysis and business intelligence. Mr Bray joined the Central Bank of Malta in
1999. He worked as senior economist, where his main responsibilities included drafting economic
reports, building econometric models and producing forecasts. In 2009 he was appointed as manager
within the financial stability department, responsible for the surveillance and assessment of systemic
risks. Mr Bray has been a member of a number of working groups within the European System of
Central Banks. He is currently a member of the Analysis Working Group which reports to the
European Systemic Risk Board.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
LINO BRIGUGLIO
Director, Islands and Small States Institute, University of Malta
Bio Note
Professor Lino Briguglio (born January 1944) possesses a Ph.D. in
Economics from the University of Exeter (UK) and a Special Diploma in
Social Studies from the University of Oxford. He obtained his Honours and
Master's degree in Economics from the University of Malta. He was
formerly head of the Economics Department and of the Banking and
Finance Department of the University of Malta. He currently directs the
Islands and Small States Institute and the Gozo Centre of the University of
Malta.
His main area of interest is islands and small states studies, in particular
economic aspects, and he has authored many publications on this subject.
He is known internationally for his seminal work on the "Vulnerability
Index" (see for example World Development, Sept 1995) which led to a world-wide interest and to
many quantitative studies on Economic and Environmental Vulnerability.
Professor Briguglio also has a keen interest in competition economics. He is currently a member of
the Appeals Tribunal for Competition and Consumer Affairs, which is a judiciary panel appointed by
the Government of Malta.
Professor Briguglio is editor of Bank of Valletta Review published by the Bank of Valletta and also
serves on the editorial boards of a number of other journals. For a time he was the general editor of
the Islands Series published by Cassell-Pinter, London.
Professor Briguglio has acted as consultant to several international organisations including the UN
Department of Policy Coordination, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP, CARICOM, the Commonwealth
Secretariat and SOPAC. He has also represented the Maltese government in many United Nations
meetings, including the UN Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island
States and the World Summit for Sustainable Development.
Prof. Briguglio is one of the lead authors for the chapter on Small Island States of the Fifth
Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Currently Professor
Briguglio is a member of the Malta Climate Change Consultative
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
CHRISTIAN CAMILLERI
Head, Credit Risk Management Unit,
Bank of Valletta plc
Bio Note
Christian Camilleri is a graduate in Banking and Finance from the University of
Malta.Christian has furthered his studies in accountancy, and is an ACCA and MIA member.
Mr Camilleri, joined Bank of Valletta's Finance Unit in 1997, where he was mainly
responsible for the Statutory Reporting functions. He later joined Risk Unit where he was
responsible for the setting up of the Bank's Asset Liability Function, of which he is Head.
Christian also serves as secretary to the bank's ALCO committee.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
SILVIO CAMILLERI
Lecturer, University of Malta
Bio Note
Dr. Silvio John Camilleri studied Banking and Finance at the University of Malta and subsequently
with the University of London from where he obtained a Masters Degree in Financial Management.
He completed his PhD programme at the Economics Department of Loughborough University, where
he conducted empirical research on the microstructure of emerging securities markets.
Dr. Camilleri lectures at the Banking and Finance Department of the University of Malta and has
published research in journals and scholarly collections. He also worked at the Group Treasury
Department of Air Malta Company Ltd., where he was a member of the Investments Committee.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
GORDON CORDINA
Lecturer, University of Malta
Bio Note
Dr Gordon Cordina holds the post of Resources Economics at the University of Malta. His main area
of research interest is the growth and macroeconomic dynamics of small and micro economies. He
has published widely in this area, on aspects ranging from macroeconomic and growth patterns to
pension reform to environmental sustainability. Dr Cordina has served as Director General of the
National Statistics Office, as Economic Advisor to the Malta Council for Economic and Social
Development and as Head of the Research Department of the Central Bank of Malta. He has been
involved in a number of local and international research projects and consultancy assignments with
institutions including the EU Commission, various Government Ministries and private sector
institutions.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
ANTHONY P CORTIS
Director, Statistics & Risk Management Directorate,
Central Bank of Malta,
Bio Note
Mr. Cortis joined the Central Bank of Malta in 1975. He is currently the Director of the Statistics &
Risk Management Directorate at the Central Bank of Malta, responsible for the Statistics Department
and the development of the Bank’s strategy, policies and risk management. He worked within various
departments in the Bank, including as the Senior Dealer in the treasury and investment office of the
Bank and as Manager in the Banking Supervision Office. From 2004 to 2011 he headed the Financial
Stability Department of the Bank.
Mr Cortis is a member of the Policy Advisory Committee. In his previous role as Head of Financial
Stability Department, he represented the Bank in the Standing Committee established between the
Central Bank of Malta and the Malta Financial Services Authority; in the Domestic Working Group
for Co-operation in the Management of Financial Crises as well as Secretary to the Bank’s Financial
Stability Committee. He was also the Bank’s representative at the European Banking Authority and in
the ESRB’s Instruments Working Group. He also served as a member of the ESCB Working Group
on Developments in Banking, the Task Force on Crisis Management and in the Working Group on
Macro-prudential Analysis.
Mr Cortis has a first degree in Banking.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
DAVID FABRI
Head, of the Legal and International Affairs Unit,
Malta Financial Services Authority
Bio Note
David Fabri graduated in law in 1979. In 1992, after ten years working with a leading audit firm, he
joined the Malta International Business Authority, now known as the Malta Financial Services
Authority, where he heads the legal and international affairs unit and serves as Secretary to the Board
of Governors. He is currently the Head of the Commercial Law Department at the University of Malta
and the co-ordinator of the Masters in Financial Services course. He lectures and writes regularly on
consumer protection, financial services and corporate law subjects. Since 1991, he has been closely
involved in drawing up of policy and legislative measures in these areas, including the local
transposition of many EC Directives.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
KAROL GABARRETTA
Director, Banking Unit, Malta Financial Services Authority
Bio Note
Karol currently holds the position of Director heading the Banking Supervision Unit within the
MFSA. He joined the MFSA in 2002 following a 23-year stint with the Central Bank of Malta, where
he worked in several divisions including Economics and Research, Banking Regulation, and Financial
Stability. Karol holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a post-graduate degree in Financial
Services from the University of Malta, and has made various contributions on inter alia prudential
controls, financial stability, capital adequacy, the local banking regulatory and supervisory system and
issues arising from Basel II, III. He currently represents the MFSA as alternate Member on the
European Banking Authority which since January 2011 has taken over all existing and ongoing tasks
and responsibilities from the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) where he was the
Authority’s representative. During 2009, Karol was appointed as Chair of the CEBS’ Task Force on
Supervisory Disclosure (TFSD). He has also provided assistance as an Expert on Banking Provisions
of Financial Services acquis within the ambit of the EU Commission’s TAIEX program.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
GRAZIELLA GATT
Manager Policy, Crisis Management and Stress Testing within
Financial Stability Department, Central Bank of Malta
Bio Note
Ms Graziella Gatt has joined the Central Bank of Malta in 1995 and today occupies the role of
Manager Policy, Crisis Management and Stress Testing within Financial Stability Department.
Meanwhile she has carried out her studies in Banking and Finance with the University of Manchester
and furthered her post-graduate studies in Finance with the University of Leicester. Ms Gatt had a
work experience at the Financial Stability Directorate of the European Central Bank (ECB) and still
contributes to the tasks of the ECB through her participation in various task forces and working
groups from time to time. Ms Gatt can be reached on gattg@centralbankmalta.org.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
DANIEL MAGRIN
Head – Corporate Strategy, Bank of Valletta Group
Bio Note
Daniel Magrin read a BSc (Hons) degree in Computing from the University of Greenwich, graduating
with first class honours. He pursued his formal studies with an MBA degree from Grenoble School of
Business with a distinction award. He has previously occupied the positions of Network Engineer and
Senior Analyst within Bank of Valletta’s IT department and delivered various courses. Through his
current position Daniel is actively involved in all stages of the strategic planning process for the Bank
of Valletta Group and co-ordinates strategic and business planning exercises with the various areas of
the business as required from time to time. His main areas of interest are strategy execution and
performance measurement.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
MARIO MALLIA
Chief Risk Officer, Bank of Valletta Group
Bio Note
Mario Mallia, an accountant by profession, is Chief Risk Officer at the Bank of Valletta Group, where
he is responsible for the management of both financial and non-financial risk. Mario is chairman of
the Asset-Liability Management Committee (ALCO) and of the Credit Committee at BOV. He is also
a member of the Group Executive Committee, and a director on the board of MSV Life plc.
Mario has worked for BOV since 1979, and has occupied the post of CRO since May 2008. He has
previously carried out various other roles at BOV, the most recent being that of Chief Finance Officer.
His main professional interests are bank capital management and risk-based performance
measurement.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
LILIANA PORTELLI
Head, the Operational Risk unit at Bank of Valletta
Bio Note
Liliana Portelli heads the Operational Risk unit at Bank of Valletta. She has driven the Bank’s
implementation of the Operational Risk Management Framework for the past 3 years and has
previously held roles in Knowledge Services and Strategic Planning. For a number of years she has
gained experience in the bank’s operations, thus developing an understanding of retail processes. She
has read for a Masters Degree in Business Administration.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
CLAUDIA RAUSI
Head the Risk Research & Regulation Unit within the Risk
Management Unit at Bank of Valletta plc
Bio Note
Claudia Rausi heads the Risk Research & Regulation Unit within the Risk Management Unit at BOV,
following a management post held at Market Risk. Formerly Head Compliance, Corporate Services &
Risk Management at Valletta Fund Services, a subsidiary of the BOV group and a spin off company
of another BOV subsidiary Valletta Fund Management Limited, where she worked for over ten years.
She sits on a number of Committees within BOV Group, including the NPAC on New Products and
Trust Committee. She read a Masters Degree in Business and holds, CeFA, a Post Graduate
Certificate in Education, and a Bachelor Degree in Psychology and Philosophy with the University of
Malta.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
KAREN SCERRI
Credit Risk Analyst within the Credit Risk Management Unit,
Bank of Valletta plc
Bio Note
Karen Scerri is a Credit Risk Analyst within the Credit Risk Management Unit at Bank of Valletta. Besides
responsibility for the Bank’s credit policies and the dissemination of good banking practice to the Bank’s
lending staff, the role entails carrying out risk analyses of the Bank’s corporate lending requests and their
reporting to the Credit Committee and the Board of Directors, as well as a number of functions relating to
the monitoring of the Bank’s credit portfolio. Karen has previously held positions within the Bank’s Cost
Efficiency Unit, SME Support Unit and Legal Office. In the last few years she has lectured within the Credit
Faculty of the Bank’s Training Programme, mainly in the areas of credit risk and creative accounting. Karen
holds a degree in Accountancy (University of Malta) and an MBA in Management Consulting (Grenoble
Graduate School of Business). She is married to Herbert and they have a daughter, Lara.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
RAY VELLA
Deputy Director, the On-Site Section within the Banking Unit.
Malta Financial Services Authority
Bio Note
Ray Vella started his career at the Central Bank of Malta in 1976 after having concluded his Studies
by obtaining a Diploma in Business Management from the Malta College of Arts Science and
Technology (MCAST). At the Central Bank, Ray was assigned to various different departments,
amongst which the Foreign Exchange Department, Finance Office, Investments Office and Internal
Audit. He was assigned to Banking Supervision Department in 1991 where he was responsible for
heading inspection teams during on-site visits at licensed credit and financial institutions. During this
time, Ray pursued his banking studies and attained his ACIB Diploma in 1996. When the banking
supervision function was transferred from the Central Bank to the Malta Financial Services Authority
(MFSA) in 2002, Ray joined the new single regulatory authority as Deputy Director in charge of the
On-Site Section within the Banking Unit.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta
Banking and Finance in Small States: Issues and Policies
Malta: 16 - 20 April 2012
STEPHANIE VELLA
Director, Economic Consultancy
Bio Note
Stephanie Vella graduated Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Economics from the University of
Malta in 2002 and obtained a Master of Arts in Economics in 2004 presenting a dissertation on small
state and exchange rate regimes. She worked at the Central Bank of Malta within the Economic
Analysis Office for three years. She is currently a Director of a firm specializing in Economic
Consultancy. She is also a part-time lecturer at the Economics Department of the University of Malta
teaching Public Sector Economics and Intermediate Macroeconomics at a graduate level. She is
currently pursuing post doctorial studies focus on the concept of fiscal discipline and economic
growth. Her main research interests are small states studies and fiscal policy.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Workshop organised by the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta,
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, U.K. and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malta