Malta Development Bank gets European Commission approval

Proposals to set up a Malta Development Bank have been approved by the European Commission, in what deputy prime minister Louis Grech hailed as a "fundamental step in extending Malta's financial structure."?
"The country will now have a financial institution that specialises in development and which will not be guided solely by the profits of the shareholders," Mr Grech said.
The bank will mainly operate when private commercial banks fail to make appropriate financing available, or if financing is not being offered at normal market rates.?
It will finance both SMEs and medium-to-large infrastructure projects.?
The bank, which will be 100 per cent government-owned, will have an authorised capital of "200 million, allowing it to eventually leverage this to around "1 billion in loans. However, the initial paid-up capital is expected to be around "30 million, with further capital pay-ups depending on the growth of the Bank's business.?
It will have a guarantee from the Maltese Government on both the assets and liabilities side, the extent of which will be negotiated between the Bank and the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said in a statement.?
Although...

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