Shares in APS Bank plc begun trading on the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) on Monday following the Bank’s hugely successful Initial Public Offering (IPO) last month.

The IPO, one of the largest equity offerings in the history of Malta’s capital markets, was closed on the same day it opened after a tremendous positive response by investors.

The Bank set out to raise €66 million but saw this mushroom to over €100 million in just six hours, with 110,000,000 new ordinary shares offered at €0.62 - which include the 10,000,000 ordinary shares made available through the over-allotment option – all having been subscribed to.

Having established itself as Malta’s community bank and a primary enabler of sustainable and socially responsible initiatives, the Bank is now set to use the capital raised to launch itself on another three-year path of growth and diversification.

Described as “the investment opportunity of a lifetime”, the IPO saw an aggregate amount of 69,681,981 shares pre-allocated to a number of investors. The remaining balance of 40,318,019 shares was made available for subscription by the public with applications for a total of 101,611,740 shares received by the time it closed.

To ensure smaller investors were not excluded, the Bank opted to scale down the allocation of shares to Preferred Applicants in favour of those who did not qualify as Preferred Applicants. A total of 516 applications were received from Preferred Applicants for a total of 15,578,761 shares, of which 72.86 per cent have been satisfied and allocated. Applications for 25,000 new shares or less have been satisfied in full, while those exceeding 25,000 shares have received the first 25,000 new shares and 50 per cent of the balance.

A total of 4,430 applications were received from the public, for a total of 86,032,979 shares, with 33.67 per cent of all applications satisfied and allocated. Individual applications for 5,000 new shares or less have been satisfied in full while larger applications have been allotted the first 5,000 shares in full and 13.51 per cent of the balance.

The start of trading of the shares was marked by the symbolic ‘ringing of the bell’ at the MSE during which APS Bank’s CEO Marcel Cassar took the opportunity to express his gratitude to the public for the faith it had shown in the Bank. The IPO was born out of a vision that went back years and which still had much to deliver, he said.

“In our towns and villages, we ring bells to announce important events and milestones. We hope to have many more opportunities to ring bells in the future, including ones with an even louder chime,” Mr Cassar added.

The shares were listed on the MSE on Friday 17th June with trading commencing on Monday 20th June.

APS Bank is a major local provider of retail and commercial banking services, investment management as well as syndication and trade. The organisation is now looking to refine its business model and leverage its purpose to fuel growth.

The capital raised by the IPO will allow the Bank to do more with existing clients, as well as attract new and larger ones, through new and innovative products which directly address customer needs. In addition to increasing the value of assets under its management, the Bank is also looking to pursue a strategy of lending diversification by branching out into currently unserved economic sectors.

Like every other organisation, APS Bank is driven by the desire to generate sustainable and superior returns for its investors. However, the Bank is also motivated by its mission to support the local community, through both its banking services and its support of community-based projects. The overwhelming response to the IPO represents a vote of confidence in the Bank and everything it stands for, and above all, the vision its management has laid out for the future.

APS Bank plc is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority as a Credit Institution under the Banking Act 1994 and to carry out Investment Services activities under the Investment Services Act 1994. The Bank is also registered as a Tied Insurance Intermediary under the Insurance Distribution Act 2018.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of APS Bank plc.