Malta's banking sector 'robust and stable' - government

Malta has a strong banking sector with a well diversified asset holding, the government said this evening. It said in a statement that the World Economic Forum ranked Malta 13th out of 144 countries in terms of the soundness of its banking sector. The country’s banking system has strong solvency ratios, was well capitalised with an overall capital adequacy ratio above 50 per cent, significantly exceeding the minimum regulatory requirement of eight per cent under the Capital Requirement Directive. In a statement motivated by the crisis in Cyprus, the government said Malta joined the euro area to further enhance its macroeconomic and financial stability, and to contribute to the stability of the euro area-wide economic and financial system. Together with other EU states, it participated in the setting up of a euro area regulatory and supervisory framework, to which it has also actively contributed. The national financial regulatory and supervisory system was regularly subject to assessments by international organisations, including the EU and the IMF. Malta, the government said, supported the argument of the Luxembourg government that the banking system of an EU state, being part...