Christmas Eve legal notices introduce significant cost hikes for banks, insurers, and financial services firms
The Maltese government has introduced a series of legal notices significantly increasing application and supervisory fees for banks, insurance providers, and other financial services companies. The changes, quietly published in the Government Gazette on Christmas Eve, have sparked criticism from opposition leaders and industry stakeholders.
A total of eight legal notices were issued, amending regulations across various sectors, including retirement funds, banks, trusts, and crypto assets. Many of the updated provisions impose higher costs on firms operating within these sectors, with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) among the primary beneficiaries of the new fee structure.
Under the changes, a bank looking to operate in Malta could now face a €35,000 application fee, coupled with annual supervisory fees ranging from €50,000 to €1.7 million. Insurance brokers and companies listed on the stock market are among those expected to shoulder increased costs, with annual licensing and supervision fees also rising for trusts and retirement scheme providers.
The increases, which are to be phased in over the coming years, mark the first major hike in supervisory fees in several years. The Finance Ministry attributed the changes to recommendations by the International Monetary Fund and consultations with industry stakeholders.
“These taxes were not announced at any grand press conference under a large marquee in front of Castille but were instead quietly introduced during the Christmas festivities,” said PN economy and finance spokespersons Jerome Caruana Cilia and Graham Bencini in a joint statement. They criticized the fee hikes as “another blow that further burdens operators in the sector,” adding that the costs would inevitably trickle down to Maltese families and businesses.
Government Defends Higher Fees
The Finance Ministry defended the changes, stating that they were necessary to cover the MFSA’s rising operational costs. “The regulatory and supervisory workload has increased exponentially over the years, yet the fees charged have remained the same since 2014,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This reform is but a natural consequence of the changes and developments which took place over the past decade,” the statement continued, arguing that the updated fee structure targets high-risk areas and will not directly impact families, contrary to claims by the opposition.
The ministry also emphasized that Malta remains competitive compared to other jurisdictions, noting that the revised fees do not exceed those charged in comparable countries.
However, critics argue that the timing of the announcement, during the festive season and absent from October’s budget speech, undermines the government’s stated commitment to making Malta a more attractive hub for fintech and artificial intelligence companies.
The fee hikes come in the wake of Malta’s greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2021, which pressured the country to enhance its financial crime regulatory framework. Observers view the new measures as part of Malta’s broader efforts to rebuild its international reputation in the financial services sector.
