Policies
Cookie Policy
Cookie Policy1. Introduction
Bank of Valletta p.l.c. and its subsidiaries (the “BOV Group”, "us", "we", or "our") uses cookies and tracking technologies on its websites www.bov.com, www.bovassetmanagement.com, www.bovfundservices.com, www.stockbroking.com.mt and www.bovjosephcallejafoundation.com (the “Website”) and we are committed to respect the privacy of visitors using our Websites.
Our Cookies Policy (the “Policy”) explains what cookies are, how we use cookies, how third parties we may partner with may use cookies on our Website, your choices regarding cookies and further information about cookies.
Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Notice.
2. What are cookies
A cookie is a small text file (typically numbers and letters) that is downloaded onto ‘terminal equipment’ (e.g. your computer or smartphone) when the user accesses a website using that device. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit – and they are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user’s device and store some information about your preferences or past actions. These cookies are stored locally and are available to all browsers you may use. You can find more information about cookies at www.allaboutcookies.org.
Cookies are widely used to make websites work in an efficient way. They allow you to navigate between pages efficiently, remember your preferences and make the interaction between you and the site smoother and more efficient. They are also used to help ensure that the advertisements you see online are relevant to you and your interests.
2.1 Setting and Storing Cookies:
Cookies may be set either by the website you are visiting (“first party cookies”) or by third party websites who run content on the website you are looking at (“third party cookies”).
They may be stored either for the duration of your visit to the website or for repeat visits. We will use the following terms to describe the storing of cookies:
Session cookie: A cookie that allows us to link your actions during a browser session. A browser session starts when you open the browser window and finishes when you close it. Session cookies are created temporarily and are deleted once the browser window is closed.
Persistent cookie: A cookie that remains on your Device for the period of time specified in the cookie and activated each time you visit the website that created that particular cookie.
2.2 Different types of cookies:
Cookies can be grouped into the following types:Performance cookies
Performance cookies (or statistics cookies) allow websites to remember the users so that they can provide an enhanced user experience. These cookies enable websites to collect anonymous information about how visitors use the website, the types of pages you visit, and problems or friction the user experiences on the site, to evaluate the performance of a website. This information is then used to make improvements to the way the site works and to understand the interests and motivations of users to ensure effective communications and delivery of products or services.
Functional cookies
Functional cookies (or preference cookies) are classified as cookies that ensure a website functions properly. These cookies, as the name suggests, help enhance a website’s performance and functionality. They help websites to remember user credentials like username and password for automatic login, and a user’s site preferences such as the user’s language preference, region etc. While functionality cookies are not used to track browsing activity on other websites, they can also be set by third-party providers whose services are used by the website.
Advertising cookies
Advertising cookies (targeting cookies or tracking cookies) are used by websites to track the browning activities and behaviour of users online to build a profile of the user’s interests and show them relevant advertisements on other websites. They are usually third-party cookies set by advertising networks (like Google Ads, Amazon Publisher Services, and Media.net) used by a website.
These types of cookies are often persistent and are usually installed on a user’s browser by third parties. They do not directly store personal information but can uniquely identify a user’s browser, device, location, browsing habits, browser preferences, and so on.
3. How we use cookies
We use cookies to improve your user experience, enable certain functions of the Website, such as, navigation and access to secure areas of the Website, aggregate statistics about the number of visitors to the Website and obtain data about how the Website is being used. This data enables us to develop and optimise the Website.
We also use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We may share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you have provided to them or that they have collected from your use of their services
Cookies may either be deleted automatically when the user closes their web browser (so-called "session cookies") or stored on the user's computer to facilitate future visits to the Website (so-called "permanent cookies"). Permanent cookies will also be automatically deleted after a specified period of time. Flash cookies are a type of permanent cookie.
4. What cookies do we use?
We use the following types of cookies that are placed on the Website, their function, who is the provider, the purposes for which the data are collected and how long data collected by cookies are kept. Please note that the names of the cookies may change over time:
www.bov.com
www.bovassetmanagement.com
www.bovfundservices.com
www.stockbroking.com.mt
www.bovjosephcallejafoundation.com
5. What are your choices regarding cookies?
When you visit the Website, you will be requested to accept or manage your cookie settings. We can store cookies on the user’s device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site, however, for all other types of cookies, we need to obtain the consent of the user.
Please note that you may change your mind at any time and may delete cookies or refuse to accept them. If you delete or refuse cookies you might not be able to use all of the features we offer, you may not be able to store your preferences, and some of our pages might not display properly.
6. How can I change cookie preferences?
Apart from setting cookie preferences from the Cookie Banner on our Website, or at the footer as may be applicable, you can control and/or delete cookies as you wish from your browser settings. For details on how to control and/or delete cookies using your browser settings, please see:
Delete Cookies in Microsoft Edge
Delete Cookies in Mozilla Firefox browser
Delete Cookies in Google Chrome browser
You can delete all cookies that are already on your device and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed. If you do this, however, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site and some services and functionalities may not work.
7. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes to this Policy, we will let you know accordingly. However, it is advisable to regularly check this Policy to ensure you are aware of the most updated version. This version was last updated on 02/04/2024.
Bank of Valletta p.l.c. and its subsidiaries (the “BOV Group”, "us", "we", or "our") uses cookies and tracking technologies on its websites www.bov.com, www.bovassetmanagement.com, www.bovfundservices.com, www.stockbroking.com.mt and www.bovjosephcallejafoundation.com (the “Website”) and we are committed to respect the privacy of visitors using our Websites.
Our Cookies Policy (the “Policy”) explains what cookies are, how we use cookies, how third parties we may partner with may use cookies on our Website, your choices regarding cookies and further information about cookies.
Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Notice.
2. What are cookies
A cookie is a small text file (typically numbers and letters) that is downloaded onto ‘terminal equipment’ (e.g. your computer or smartphone) when the user accesses a website using that device. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit – and they are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user’s device and store some information about your preferences or past actions. These cookies are stored locally and are available to all browsers you may use. You can find more information about cookies at www.allaboutcookies.org.
Cookies are widely used to make websites work in an efficient way. They allow you to navigate between pages efficiently, remember your preferences and make the interaction between you and the site smoother and more efficient. They are also used to help ensure that the advertisements you see online are relevant to you and your interests.
2.1 Setting and Storing Cookies:
Cookies may be set either by the website you are visiting (“first party cookies”) or by third party websites who run content on the website you are looking at (“third party cookies”).
They may be stored either for the duration of your visit to the website or for repeat visits. We will use the following terms to describe the storing of cookies:
Session cookie: A cookie that allows us to link your actions during a browser session. A browser session starts when you open the browser window and finishes when you close it. Session cookies are created temporarily and are deleted once the browser window is closed.
Persistent cookie: A cookie that remains on your Device for the period of time specified in the cookie and activated each time you visit the website that created that particular cookie.
2.2 Different types of cookies:
Cookies can be grouped into the following types:Performance cookies
Performance cookies (or statistics cookies) allow websites to remember the users so that they can provide an enhanced user experience. These cookies enable websites to collect anonymous information about how visitors use the website, the types of pages you visit, and problems or friction the user experiences on the site, to evaluate the performance of a website. This information is then used to make improvements to the way the site works and to understand the interests and motivations of users to ensure effective communications and delivery of products or services.
Functional cookies
Functional cookies (or preference cookies) are classified as cookies that ensure a website functions properly. These cookies, as the name suggests, help enhance a website’s performance and functionality. They help websites to remember user credentials like username and password for automatic login, and a user’s site preferences such as the user’s language preference, region etc. While functionality cookies are not used to track browsing activity on other websites, they can also be set by third-party providers whose services are used by the website.
Advertising cookies
Advertising cookies (targeting cookies or tracking cookies) are used by websites to track the browning activities and behaviour of users online to build a profile of the user’s interests and show them relevant advertisements on other websites. They are usually third-party cookies set by advertising networks (like Google Ads, Amazon Publisher Services, and Media.net) used by a website.
These types of cookies are often persistent and are usually installed on a user’s browser by third parties. They do not directly store personal information but can uniquely identify a user’s browser, device, location, browsing habits, browser preferences, and so on.
3. How we use cookies
We use cookies to improve your user experience, enable certain functions of the Website, such as, navigation and access to secure areas of the Website, aggregate statistics about the number of visitors to the Website and obtain data about how the Website is being used. This data enables us to develop and optimise the Website.
We also use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We may share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you have provided to them or that they have collected from your use of their services
Cookies may either be deleted automatically when the user closes their web browser (so-called "session cookies") or stored on the user's computer to facilitate future visits to the Website (so-called "permanent cookies"). Permanent cookies will also be automatically deleted after a specified period of time. Flash cookies are a type of permanent cookie.
4. What cookies do we use?
We use the following types of cookies that are placed on the Website, their function, who is the provider, the purposes for which the data are collected and how long data collected by cookies are kept. Please note that the names of the cookies may change over time:
www.bov.com
Cookie Key | Domain | First or Third Party | Type | Expiry | Description |
CookieConsent | bov.com | First Party | Functional | 1 month | This cookie is used by Cookie-Script.com service to remember visitor cookie consent preferences. It is necessary for Cookie-Script.com cookie banner to work properly. |
JOTFORM_SESSION | .jotforms.com | Third Party | Functional | 30 days | Preserves user states across page requests |
ASP.NET_Sessionid | bov.com | First Party | Functional | Session | General purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written with Miscrosoft .NET based technologies. Usually used to maintain an anonymised user session by the server. |
_cfbp | bov.com | First Party | Functional | 23 hours | When enabling session affinity with Cloudflare Load Balancer, Cloudflare sets a __cflb cookie with a unique value on the first response to the requesting client. Cloudflare routes future requests to the same origin, optimizing network resource usage. In the event of a failover, Cloudflare sets a new __cflb cookie to direct future requests to the failover pool. |
CONSENT | google.com | Third Party | Functional | 180 days | Used by Googe Ads to store cookie consent preferences |
_ga | bov.com | First Party | Performance | 13 months | Google Analytics cookie used to store page counts |
_hjSessionUser_583596 | ebo.ai | Third Party | Performance | 21 days | Hotjar cookie that is set when a user first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the Hotjar User ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID. |
_ga | ebo.ai | Third Party | Performance | 21 days | A Google analtyics cookie used by other sites. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports. |
NID | google.com | Third Party | Performance | 13 months | A google cookie used to provide ad delivery or retargeting, store user preferences. |
IDE | .doubleclick.net | Third Party | Marketing | 13 months | Cookie used by google to track if the user landed on the page from another page that had Google content (eg youtube links or any Adsense links) |
c_user | Third Party | Marketing | 30 days | A facebook cookies used to store a unique user ID | |
_fbp | bov.com | First Party | Marketing | 3 months | Used by Meta to deliver a series of advertisement products such as real time bidding from third party advertisers. |
_gcl_au | .google.com | Third Party | Marketing | persistent | Google Analytics cookie used to link conversions to their original page |
YCS | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | session | Used by youtube to track and store interactions on movies embedded in the site. |
www.bovassetmanagement.com
Cookie Key | Domain | First or Third Party | Type | Expiry | Description |
CookieScriptConsent | .bovassetmanagement.com | First Party | Functional | 1 month | This cookie is used by Cookie-Script.com service to remember visitor cookie consent preferences. It is necessary for Cookie-Script.com cookie banner to work properly. |
ASP.NET_SessionId | .bovassetmanagement.com | First Party | Functional | Session | General purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written with Miscrosoft .NET based technologies. Usually used to maintain an anonymised user session by the server. |
NSC_mc_xxx.cpwbttfunbobhfnfou.dpn | .bovassetmanagement.com | First Party | Functional | 2 minutes | This cookie name is associated with the Netscaler load balancing service from Citrix. This is a pattern type cookie with the root being NSC_ and the rest of the name being a unique encrypted alpha numeric identifier for the virtual server it originated from. The cookie is used to ensure traffic and user data is routed to the correct locations where a site is hosted on multiple servers, so that the end user has a consistent experience. |
__cf_bm | .cloudflare.com | First Party | Functional | 30 minutes | This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the website, in order to make valid reports on the use of their website. |
_ga_P2ECZHQM9P | .bovassetmanagement.com | First Party | Performance | 13 months | This cookie is used by Google Analytics to persist session state. |
_ga | .bovassetmanagement.com | First Party | Performance | 24 months | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google's more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports. |
_gid | .bovassetmanagement.com | First Party | Performance | 1 day | This cookie is set by Google Analytics. It stores and update a unique value for each page visited and is used to count and track pageviews. |
YSC | youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | Session | This cookie is set by Youtuve to track views of embedded videos |
_gat_gtag_UA_51899195_2 | .bovassetmanagement.com | First Party | Marketing | 60 seconds | This cookie is part of Google Analytics and is used to limit requests (throttle request rate). |
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | 6 months | This cookie is set by Youtube to keep track of user preferences for Youtube videos embedded in sites;it can also determine whether the website visitor is using the new or old version of the Youtube interface. |
ps_n | facebook.com | Third Party | Marketing | 13 months | A Facebook advertising cookie. |
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA | youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | 180 days | Stores the user's cookie consent state for the current domain |
www.bovfundservices.com
Cookie Key | Domain | First or Third Party | Type | Expirey | Description |
CookieScriptConsent | .bovfundservices.com/ | First Party | Functional | 1 month | This cookie is used by Cookie-Script.com service to remember visitor cookie consent preferences. It is necessary for Cookie-Script.com cookie banner to work properly. |
ASP.NET_SessionId | .bovfundservices.com/ | First Party | Functional | Session | General purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written with Miscrosoft .NET based technologies. Usually used to maintain an anonymised user session by the server |
NSC_mc_xxx.cpwbttfunbobhfnfou.dpn | .bovfundservices.com/ | First Party | Functional | 2 minutes | This cookie name is associated with the Netscaler load balancing service from Citrix. This is a pattern type cookie with the root being NSC_ and the rest of the name being a unique encrypted alpha numeric identifier for the virtual server it originated from. The cookie is used to ensure traffic and user data is routed to the correct locations where a site is hosted on multiple servers, so that the end user has a consistent experience. |
__cf_bm | .cloudflare.com | Third Party | Functional | 30 minutes | This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the website, in order to make valid reports on the use of their website. |
_ga_MPRFG5ZC9L | .bovfundservices.com/ | First Party | Performance | 13 months | This cookie is used by Google Analytics to persist session state. |
_ga | .bovfundservices.com/ | First Party | Performance | 13 minths | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google's more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports. |
_gid | .bovfundservices.com/ | First Party | Performance | 1 day | This cookie is set by Google Analytics. It stores and update a unique value for each page visited and is used to count and track pageviews. |
YSC | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | Session | This cookie is set by YouTube to track views of embedded videos. |
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | 6 months | This cookie is set by Youtube to keep track of user preferences for cookie consent. |
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | 6 months | This cookie is set by Youtube to keep track of user preferences for Youtube videos embedded in sites;it can also determine whether the website visitor is using the new or old version of the Youtube interface. |
www.stockbroking.com.mt
Cookie Key | Domain | First or Third Party | Type | Expirey | Description |
CookieScriptConsent | stockbroking.com.mt/ | First Party | Functional | 1 month | This cookie is used by Cookie-Script.com service to remember visitor cookie consent preferences. It is necessary for Cookie-Script.com cookie banner to work properly. |
ASP.NET_SessionId | stockbroking.com.mt/ | First Party | Functional | Session | General purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written with Microsoft .NET based technologies. Usually used to maintain an anonymised user session by the server. |
__cf_bm | .cloudflare.com | Third Party | Functional | 30 minutes | This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the website, in order to make valid reports on the use of their website. |
_ga_MPRFG5ZC9L | stockbroking.com.mt/ | First Party | Performance | 13 months | This cookie is used by Google Analytics to persist session state. |
_ga | stockbroking.com.mt/ | First Party | Performance | 13 minths | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google's more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports. |
_gid | stockbroking.com.mt/ | First Party | Performance | 1 day | This cookie is set by Google Analytics. It stores and update a unique value for each page visited and is used to count and track pageviews. |
YSC | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | Session | This cookie is set by YouTube to track views of embedded videos. |
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | 6 months | This cookie is set by Youtube to keep track of user preferences for cookie consent. |
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | 6 months | This cookie is set by Youtube to keep track of user preferences for Youtube videos embedded in sites;it can also determine whether the website visitor is using the new or old version of the Youtube interface. |
www.bovjosephcallejafoundation.com
Cookie Key | Domain | First or Third Party | Type | Expirey | Description |
CookieScriptConsent | .bovjosephcallejafoundation.com/ | First-party | Functional | 1 month | This cookie is used by Cookie-Script.com service to remember visitor cookie consent preferences. It is necessary for Cookie-Script.com cookie banner to work properly. |
ASP.NET_SessionId | .bovjosephcallejafoundation.com/ | First-party | Functional | Session | General purpose platform session cookie, used by sites written with Miscrosoft .NET based technologies. Usually used to maintain an anonymised user session by the server. |
NSC_JOnyviaadutdgewb0qrmpkb4u3efjbn | .bovjosephcallejafoundation.com/ | First-party | Functional | 2 minutes | This cookie name is associated with the Netscaler load balancing service from Citrix. This is a pattern type cookie with the root being NSC_ and the rest of the name being a unique encrypted alpha numeric identifier for the virtual server it originated from. The cookie is used to ensure traffic and user data is routed to the correct locations where a site is hosted on multiple servers, so that the end user has a consistent experience. |
__cflb | .bovjosephcallejafoundation.com/ | First-party | Functional | 30 minutes | When enabling session affinity with Cloudflare Load Balancer, Cloudflare sets a __cflb cookie with a unique value on the first response to the requesting client. Cloudflare routes future requests to the same origin, optimizing network resource usage. In the event of a failover, Cloudflare sets a new __cflb cookie to direct future requests to the failover pool. |
_ga_P2ECZHQM9P | .bovjosephcallejafoundation.com/ | First-party | Performance | 13 months | This cookie is used by Google Analytics to persist session state. |
_ga | .bovjosephcallejafoundation.com/ | First-party | Performance | 13 months | This cookie name is associated with Google Universal Analytics - which is a significant update to Google's more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports. |
_gid | .bovjosephcallejafoundation.com/ | First-party | Performance | 1 day | This cookie is set by Google Analytics. It stores and update a unique value for each page visited and is used to count and track pageviews. |
__Secure-ENID | .google.com | Third Party | Performance | 13 months | This cookie is set by Google and is used to store user preferences and information, such as language preferences and customized search results. |
AEC | .google.com | Third Party | Performance | 6 months | AEC’ cookies are used to detect spam, fraud, and abuse to help ensure advertisers are not incorrectly charged for fraudulent or otherwise invalid impressions or interactions with ads, and that YouTube creators in the YouTube Partner Program are remunerated fairly. |
YSC | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | Session | This cookie is set by YouTube to track views of embedded videos. |
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | 6 months | This cookie is set by Youtube to keep track of user preferences for cookie consent. |
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | .youtube.com | Third Party | Marketing | 6 months | This cookie is set by Youtube to keep track of user preferences for Youtube videos embedded in sites;it can also determine whether the website visitor is using the new or old version of the Youtube interface. |
lastExternalReferrer | .facebook.com | Third Party | Marketing | Persistent | Detects how user reached the website by registering their last URL address |
lastExternalReferrerTime | .facebook.com | Third Party | Marketing | Persistent | Detects how user reached the website by registering their last URL address |
brave_page_visited | .bovjosephcallejafoundation.com/ | First-party | Marketing | Session | Collects data related to the user's visits to the website, such as the number of visits, average time spent on the website and what pages have been loaded, with the purpose of displaying targeted ads. |
5. What are your choices regarding cookies?
When you visit the Website, you will be requested to accept or manage your cookie settings. We can store cookies on the user’s device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site, however, for all other types of cookies, we need to obtain the consent of the user.
Please note that you may change your mind at any time and may delete cookies or refuse to accept them. If you delete or refuse cookies you might not be able to use all of the features we offer, you may not be able to store your preferences, and some of our pages might not display properly.
6. How can I change cookie preferences?
Apart from setting cookie preferences from the Cookie Banner on our Website, or at the footer as may be applicable, you can control and/or delete cookies as you wish from your browser settings. For details on how to control and/or delete cookies using your browser settings, please see:
Delete Cookies in Microsoft Edge
Delete Cookies in Mozilla Firefox browser
Delete Cookies in Google Chrome browser
You can delete all cookies that are already on your device and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed. If you do this, however, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site and some services and functionalities may not work.
7. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes to this Policy, we will let you know accordingly. However, it is advisable to regularly check this Policy to ensure you are aware of the most updated version. This version was last updated on 02/04/2024.