Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) on Monday announced that its payment of an interim cash dividend has been granted regulatory approval.

The dividend, amounting to €0.0462 gross per share (€0.03 net of tax), was first announced last month.

The payout represents the bank’s largest interim dividend since 2013 (€0.06), and only the second dividend overall to be paid out since 2018, when a final dividend of €0.08 was issued for the 2017 financial year.

The only other dividend to be issued between 2018 and today was a relatively small one of €0.0264 per share in January 2022.

Throughout the past few years, BOV, Malta’s largest bank, has faced a number of issues, such as problems related to Malta’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylisting, together with the €182 million Deiulemar settlement.

On the other hand, BOV has also benefitted from rising interest rates and a number of reforms, leading to the wider group registering a pre-tax profit of €163.5 million for the first nine months of 2023. BOV CEO Kenneth Farrugia had admitted that the international context is “difficult” due to cost of living rises and faltering growth in major economies. In this respect, he emphasised that BOV will continue to focus on a transformation driven by data, science and better use of capital resources.

The dividend is set to be paid on 6th December 2023 to those members appearing in BOV’s Register of Members, as maintained at the Central Securities Depository at the Malta Stock Exchange, as at the close of business on 21st November 2023.