NEWS | Wednesday, 08 August 2007

BOV at the forefront of the Euro changeover preparations

‘BOV is fully engaged in the final preparations leading to the adoption to the euro as Malta’s currency as from the 1st January 2008. The preparations underway cover all the Bank’s operations and involve extensive logistical preparations“. This was stated by John Cassar Torreggiani, Executive Head responsible for the euro changeover process at Bank of Valletta during a seminar for the Bank’s management team.
Mr. Cassar Torreggiani also highlighted how BOV is playing an important role in the national preparations leading to the euro changeover. “The appointment of Bank of Valletta as the Official Partner Bank of the National Euro Changeover Committee positions BOV at the forefront of financial and economic developments in Malta at this important and historic time when the country is joining the eurozone. We are working hand in hand with the NECC, the Malta Bankers’ Association and the Central Bank of Malta, on various aspects related to the changeover, including the preparations involving the physical distribution of the euro coins and notes to the general public as from the 1st January 2008,” explained Mr. Cassar Torreggiani. “We are also preparing for the delivery and eventual distribution of the BOV Converters that will be available in all households later on this year. These BOV converters are intended to assist the public and facilitate the process of getting used to the new currency values,” said Mr. Cassar Torreggiani.
The seminar was also addressed by Pat Mc Ardle, Chief Economist at Ulster Bank who was responsible for the Ulster Bank Group Euro Communications Programme, the most extensive programme undertaken by an Irish Bank. He was also responsible for advice to customers and staff on EMU. Mr. Mc Ardle spoke about the calendar of events that took place during the last week of December 2001 and the first week of January 2002 when Ireland adopted the euro and highlighted various learning experiences from the Irish euro changeover process. He stressed that important advice given to customers was to use bank cards and electronic means of payments as much as possible since these helped facilitate a smooth transition to the new currency.