BOV to part ways with second Chief Risk Officer in three years

Bank of Valletta (BOV) announced that its Chief Risk Officer, Danielle Grima, will be stepping down from her role later this year. She is the second executive to step down from this important post in the past three years.

“The contract of the Chief Risk Officer, Danielle Grima, is due to expire on 24 July, 2026. This contract will not be renewed by mutual agreement between the Bank and Ms Grima,” the bank’s brief announcement reads.

“The Bank will communicate any updates regarding the role of Chief Risk Officer at the appropriate time, through the issuance of company announcements,” the announcement continues, further noting that “there are no matters concerning Ms Grima that warrant disclosure in terms of the Capital Markets Rules”.

Grima was appointed to the post in April 2023, after her predecessor, Miguel Borg, resigned shortly after the courts ruled that the hospitals concession was fraudulent.

In his role as Chief Risk Officer, Borg oversaw BOV’s decision to financially support the fraudulent concession through the issuance of an outstanding €36 million loan to Steward Healthcare. BOV had previously claimed that an internal investigation found no wrongdoing on Borg’s part.

Shortly after his resignation, Borg, who denies that the decision to issue that loan was his own, was later appointed as CEO of the government-backed Malta Venture Capital Ltd, a role he continues to hold today.

In more recent reports, BOV has been repeatedly mentioned as the likely rescue creditor for another government-backed venture: Malita Investments, the social housing development company whose flagship projects remain in limbo until external financing is secured.

BOV’s involvement in Malita’s financial affairs had previously raised eyebrows among financial circles due to past ties between Malita Investments and BOV’s CEO, as well as the chair of the Bank’s Risk Committee.