BOV director submits Labour MEP candidature

Bank of Valletta director James Grech has submitted his nomination to be a Labour candidate for the forthcoming European Parliament elections.

Grech was appointed to the board of Bank of Valletta after being elected by shareholders in 2014, and has remained so consecutively to date. He had previously been appointed worker-director at BOV from 2004 to 2008, when the position was abolished.

In his application to PL secretary Lydia Abela, Grech described himself as a point of reference for employees and shareholders in the bank.

Grech has also occupied various posts in the bank. He currently also serves as executive head of the foreign bank relationships department, and serves as a member of the European Banking Federation Correspondent Banking Task Force, as well as chairman of the board of trustees of the BOV Employees’ Foundation.

Grech’s career began as a management accountant, before joining BOV in 1998 where he occupied senior managerial positions at various branches and departments. He holds a Master’s Degree in business administration and has lectured on financial services at MCAST and corporate governance at the University of Malta.

“My candidature will be focused on pushing forward Malta’s national interest on such matters as financial services and regulation, the environment and its challenges and renewable energy, the pharmaceutical industry and labour relations,” Grech told MaltaToday.

“I intend to defend Malta from all the mud-slinging the country has had to face and ensure Malta has the same rights as all the other EU member states.