History
BOV was formed in 1974 following an agreement between the Government of Malta and the Malta Development Corporation.
In 1992, BOV became the first public company to be listed on the Malta Stock Exchange at which time 51.21% of BOV’s equity was held by the Government of Malta, 14.55% was held by Banco di Sicilia S.p.A. and the remaining 34.24% was in the hands of the general public.
In 1995, the Government offered 12,000,000 shares to the public, thereby reducing its shareholding in BOV to 25.23%.
In June 2006, Capitalia S.p.A. took over the 14.55% stake in BOV from Banco di Sicilia S.p.A. On the 1st October 2007, Capitalia S.p.A. was merged with UniCredito Italiano S.p.A. by way of incorporation. UniCredit S.p.A. became the other major shareholder with 14.55% stake in BOV.
On 1st January 2008, by the Euro Adoption Act (Cap.485), the nominal value of the BOV shares changed from Lm0.25 per share to €0.582343 per share.
In May 2008 the name of UniCredito Italiano S.p.A was changed to UniCredit S.p.A.
On 27th July 2017, following an Extraordinary General Meeting , the authorised share capital of the Company increased from €500 million to €1,000 million, by which time the issued share capital remained the same.
The admission of the Offical List of 105,000,000 on 22nd December 2017, the share capital was changed where the Government of Malta held 25.23%, the UniCredit S.p.A., 11.64% and the Public with 63.13%.
On 18th January 2018, UniCredit S.p.A sold 946,158 shares , hence its percentage decreased to 11.46% and Public increased to 63.31%.
On the 22nd March 2018, UniCredit S.p.A sold 7,670,250 shares by means of an off-exchange transaction. Following this transaction UniCredit’s shareholding in BOV was 10%.
On 11th June 2019 , following the issue of bonus shares, the Bank’s issued and paid up share capital consisting of 583,849,270 ordinary shares is held as follows: 25% for Government of Malta, 10.20% for UniCredit S.p.A. and Public 64.80%.
The Bank's financial services are offered through a network of 39 branches and agencies in Malta and Gozo. Through these networks, the Bank has built the necessary backbone to service its customers in banking and trade transactions.
Principal activities
The Bank of Valletta Group (the Group) comprises Bank of Valletta p.l.c. (the Bank) and two subsidiary companies namely BOV Asset Management Limited (BOVAM) and BOV Fund Services Limited (BOVFS). The Group also has two equity-accounted investee companies, MAPFRE Middlesea p.l.c. and MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. The Group’s principal activities are set out below.
The Group offers banking, financial and investment services and connected activities within the domestic Maltese market. The principal activities of the Bank comprise the following:
- The receipt and acceptance of customers’ monies for deposit in current, savings and term accounts which may be denominated in Euro and other major currencies,
- The provision of loans and advances to a wide array of customers, and
- The provision of investment services, covering a comprehensive suite of investment products and services that meet the customers’ needs throughout their lifecycle, including stockbroking, advisory and discretionary portfolio management services.
The Group also provides a number of other services, including, bancassurance, corporate advisory, fund management, fund administration, and other services, such as 24-hour internet banking service, issuance of major credit cards, night safe facilities, automated teller machines, foreign exchange transactions, outward and inward payment transfers.
The Parent Company
Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is licensed to carry out the business of banking and investment services in terms of the Banking Act,1994 (Chapter 371, Laws of Malta) and the Investment Services Act,1994 (Chapter 370, Laws of Malta). The Bank is an enrolled tied insurance intermediary of MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. under the Insurance Intermediaries Act, 2006 (Chapter 487, Laws of Malta).
The Subsidiaries
BOVAM provides management services for collective investment schemes and portfolio management services for professional institutional clients. BOV AM is a fully owned subsidiary of the Bank and has three regulatory functions: Asset Management, Risk Management and Compliance.
BOVFS is also a fully owned subsidiary of the Bank and is a recognised fund administrator by the Malta Financial Services Authority. BOV FS provides a comprehensive suite of services to fund managers and fund promoters, as well as a full suite of fund administration including fund accounting, shareholder registry services, regulatory reporting and corporate services.