HSBC Bank Malta

HSBC Bank Malta plc

Type	Public
Industry	Finance and Insurance
Founded	1882
Headquarters	Valletta, Malta
Key people	Sonny Portelli, Chairman Mark Watkinson, CEO
Products	Financial Services
Net income	€48.22 mln (2014)
Total assets	€5.5 bln (2014)
Number of employees	1,400
Parent	HSBC
Website	www.hsbc.com.mt

HSBC Bank Malta plc is the leading international banking and financial services group in Malta and a subsidiary of HSBC. It is the former Mid-Med Bank (see below) and the second-oldest bank in Malta. HSBC's Malta headquarters are at 116 Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT1444, Malta. It offers a comprehensive range of financial products and services via a network of around 40 branches and offices throughout Malta and Gozo.

HSBC Bank Malta is part of the European region within the HSBC Group and therefore reports to HSBC Bank plc.

HSBC Malta dates back to the commencement of operations in Malta by the Anglo-Egyptian Bank (est. 1864), which merged with the National Bank of South Africa and The Colonial Bank (est. 1836) to become Barclays Bank Dominion Colonial Overseas in 1925 after Barclays acquired The Colonial Bank when it acquired the London Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918. In 1954 the bank shortened its name to Barclays Bank D.C.O. and in 1971 became Barclays Bank International.

In 1975 the government of Malta nationalized Barclays Bank International's operations in Malta and renamed it Mid-Med Bank, exercising its option to purchase Barclays’ remaining shareholding in Mid-Med in 1979.

In 1991 the Maltese government sold 33% of Mid-Med Bank to the public and in 1993 Mid-Med listed on Malta’s stock exchange. Mid-Med acquired 25% of Lohombus Bank, which specializes in housing finance, in 1995 along with the Investment Finance Bank in Malta. Mid-Med gained a majority of Lohombus Bank in Malta when it acquired another 35% of the firm in 1996, the same year it established a representative office in London.

Midland Bank was the first foreign bank to be granted an unlimited banking license in Malta, where it opened a branch in September 1996. Then in 1999, Midland Bank acquired the government of Malta’s 67.1% direct holding in Mid-Med, as well its 2.7% indirect holdings. Part of the agreement was that for the time being the bank would continue to be listed in the Maltese stock market and that Midland would not make a formal offer for the remainder of the shares but could buy if other shareholders chose to sell. At the time, Mid-Med bank had 60 offices and branches, 1,800 staff and was the largest commercial bank in Malta.