COVID19 Measures

In a circular issued following the press release published by the European Central Bank ("ECB") on 12th March, the MFSA informed licensed credit institutions and the general public that the measures introduced by the ECB in terms of the aforementioned press release are to apply in their entirety to all credit institutions licensed under the Banking Act (Chapter 371 of the laws of Malta) with immediate effect and until further notice.These measures include the following: Banks can fully use capital and liquidity buffers, including Pillar 2 Guidance; Banks will benefit from relief in the composition of capital for Pillar 2…

In a circular issued on Friday 13th March, the MFSA called upon Financial institutions to inform it of any adverse change in customer behaviour, imminent difficulties in ensuring the continuity of services and/or to inform it should contingency plan/s be put into effect. Financial Institutions were also encouraged to communicate with critical service providers to understand and ascertain how services continuity shall be ensured.The MFSA further communicated that it is constantly monitoring developments in relation to the spread of COVID-19 and that it is in close cooperation with the Central Bank of Malta and the European Supervisory Authorities.The full circular…

In view of the current international recommendations and good practices, the MFSA has notified all authorised firms, recognised and licensed persons that with immediate effect and for an interim period, the MFSA's Supervision Unit will be increasing its use of remote data gathering supervisory tools. This includes increasing and widening the scope of pre-visit documentation requests, issuing questionnaires and conducting Board and Officer interviews via teleconferencing or video link.The MFSA will be continuing with its planned schedule of inspections adopting the aforementioned new procedures and will not postpone inspections unless specific circumstances so require it.The full circular may be accessed…