Source: Dr. Marilyn Mifsud¸ PKF Malta

Global Rating Agency Fitch Ratings give Malta an ‘A+’ rating after vouching for Malta in a special press release that identifies Malta as a small yet sturdy euro-zone country with differences that out-weigh similarities in comparison to crisis-stricken Cyprus. While some mutations to Malta’s business model may be in the pipeline owing to the European and global approach to financial centres¸ the same would be natural developments incidental to a developing sector and market. With a banking sector second only to Luxembourg¸ the risk inherent in Malta’s 789% of GDP banking sector is heavily watered down when one eliminates assets of international banks and non-core domestic banks¸ leaving potential bank support on the Maltese sovereign being represented by only 128% of GDP- a stark contrast to the 466% of GDP in Cyprus. Additionally Malta’s risk of capital flight by foreign depositors is not even comparable to the situation in Cyprus where only 17% of deposits in Malta’s core domestic banks are from non-residents and where the majority of non-resident deposits pertain to foreign parent banking groups- a deemed sound state of affairs in stark contrast with Cyprus’ 37% of foreign deposits and where these significantly pertain to wealthy foreign individuals.

Source: http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/fitchwire/fitchwirearticle/Malta-Does-Not?pr_id=788675