Bank of Valletta (BOV) recorded a strong performance during the first nine months of the year, reporting a profit before tax of €189.6 million, just under the €192.1 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
On the back of this performance, the Bank has raised the lower bound of its 2026 profit before tax guidance from €210 million to €230 million, while retaining the upper bound at €250 million.
The bank said that operating income increased by 6 per cent, to €387.1 million. This was principally driven by a 10.6 per cent increase in net interest income to €316.8 million. “This reflected sustained growth across the group’s customer lending and investment portfolios. Net fee and commission income remained resilient at €60.0 million.”
The slight reduction in profit principally reflected the non-recurrence of specific income items recognised in 2025, together with continued strategic investment, BOV said. “The strength of the group’s core operating performance largely absorbed these effects, with pre-tax return on average equity remaining robust at 16.7 per cent.”
The group’s total assets increased by 7.4 per cent to €17.8 billion, while customer deposits grew by 6.5 per cent to €14.6 billion, the bank said.
The bank said that gross loans and advances increased by 9.9 per cent, to €8.9 billion. Growth was recorded across all principal lending segments, with home loans increasing by 11.8 per cent, business lending by 8 per cent and personal lending by 8.6 per cent. The gross loans-to-deposits ratio consequently increased from 59 per cent to 60.9 per cent, “reflecting the more productive deployment of the group’s funding base while maintaining substantial liquidity headroom.”
BOV said that non-performing exposure ratio improved to 1.41 per cent from 1.68 per cent at December 2025.
Share price increase
During the period, the share price reached €2.40, an increase of 27 per cent since the beginning of the year.
“Trading activity remained strong, with more than €19 million in shares traded, an increase of over 21 per cent year on year. Shareholders have also benefited from approximately €327 million in additional market value since the beginning of 2026, together with €33.6 million in net dividends distributed in respect of the first half of 2026.”
BOV also announced that it has received the necessary regulatory and supervisory approvals and is proceeding with the early redemption of its outstanding Senior Non-Preferred notes in December 2026. Preparatory work has also been authorised for a potential future Senior Note issuance of up to €350 million, subject to market conditions, regulatory approvals and the Bank’s future funding requirements.
Commenting on the results, Bank of Valletta Chairperson Gordon Cordina said: “These results demonstrate the continued strength and financial resilience of Bank of Valletta’s business model. The Group has delivered strong growth in operating income and customer lending while maintaining sound asset quality and substantial capital and liquidity headroom.”
Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Farrugia added: “Our performance during the first nine months reflects strong execution across the Group’s core banking activities. Net interest income increased by 10.6 per cent, while gross customer lending grew by 9.9 per cent, with positive momentum across home, business and personal lending. This growth was supported by the continued strength of our deposit franchise and translated into more productive deployment of the Group’s funding base.”
