APS Bank plc CEO Marcel Cassar has revealed that the bank was approached again in recent weeks regarding the potential acquisition of HSBC Malta, despite formally exiting the bidding process more than three months ago.

Responding to a question from this newsroom during Thursday's announcement of the bank’s unaudited financial statements, Mr Cassar acknowledged that while discussions were reignited, the bank’s interest has diminished as time has passed.

“All I will say is that there were attempts to bring us back over the past weeks to the picture,” he says, noting that any renewed engagement depends on policymakers and regulators.

“Unless there is clarity on the part of policymakers and regulators – because after all this is their job, this is their field, this is their responsibility – unless there is clarity as to how they want the market to develop and move forward, we will not move forward."

Mr Cassar stressed that APS has now “moved on” from the process, even as interest from the Eastern European banking sector appears to have narrowed the field to just two contenders.

He remarked that when the matter was "still fresh", there was "still perhaps the possibility that you could see it again favourably, but certainly the longer it takes the less interest we have and our position at the moment is that we have moved on and we wish the bidders the best of luck.”

HSBC first announced in September 2024 that it was considering a sale of its Malta arm. Within days, APS had emerged as the leading contender. On 26th March 2025, the local bank confirmed that it had entered the due diligence phase, a key step in evaluating the potential acquisition.

However, on 17th April, APS issued a statement saying it was “regrettably withdrawing” from the bidding process. No further reason was publicly given, though market speculation has been rife.