Ganado Advocates will soon be hosting the ninth edition of the Annual Banking & Payments Law Seminar, aimed at addressing the increasing responsibilities that banks and payment institutions have to protect their customers from fraud.
The seminar, which will discuss a new framework that banking institutions could adopt to protect their customers from such fraud, will be held in the afternoon of 17th April at the Portomaso Suite at Hilton Malta. It is being hosted in collaboration with the Malta Bankers’ Association (MBA), and has now become a yearly appointment that brings together key lawyers, directors, regulatory advisors, and other senior officers to discuss some of the most important developments in the industry.
Conrad Portanier, who heads the banking and finance team at Ganado Advocates and will open the event, explained how the organisation of the seminar is in line with one of the firm’s strategic priorities of developing thought leadership in the sectors that it specialises in.
Ganado Advocates Partner Conrad Portainer during last year's edition of the seminar / Facebook
“We are conscious of our responsibilities towards contributing knowledge and excellence to the banking and payments industries,” he said.
He proceeded to thank the MBA on behalf of Ganado Advocates for its support for the event and also reiterated that “different practitioners and stakeholders within industries need to collaborate further to ensure that Malta remains at the forefront of the financial services sector.”
Additionally, APS Bank CEO and MBA Chair Marcel Cassar will also be sharing a few opening remarks at the start of the event.
This year’s seminar features an extensive line-up of speakers and panellists who will cover a wide range of topics.
Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) Head of Banking Supervision Catherine Galea / MFSA
Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) Head of Banking Supervision Catherine Galea will be a keynote speaker and address evolving financial regulations related to the banking sector. On the other hand, Chiara Frendo, a specialist financial services litigator at Ganado Advocates, will address institutions' obligations towards customers regarding fraud.
Other speakers will include Dr Portanier, Mr Cassar, BNF Bank Chief Legal & Compliance Officer Jean Noel Cutajar, APS Bank Head of Retail Aaron Mifsud, Bank of Valletta Head of Consumer and Microbusiness Lending, Ganado Advocates Senior Associate James Debono, MFSA Deputy Head of Fintech Supervision Rachel Gauci, and Central Bank of Malta Senior Expert of Regulation and Oversight Office Kirsten Ellul.
The seminar will also include two separate breakout sessions to address more specific topics concerning banks and payment institutions.
One session, titled "Re-evaluating lending practices: Understanding the new Consumer Credit Directive," will seek to examine how the new EU Consumer Credit Directive will impact lending practices in Malta. This session will feature a presentation by Roberta Carabott, Advocate at Ganado Advocates, as well as a panel discussion moderated by Ganado Advocates Senior Associate Catherine Formosa.
The other session, held in tandem with the aforementioned one, is called "Navigating PSD3 and PSR: Impact on stakeholders." In this session, Leonard Bonello, Partner at Ganado Advocates, will explore the impact of the new iteration of payment laws, namely PSD3 and PSR, on both banks and payment institutions. This will then be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Ganado Advocates Senior Regulatory Advisor Paul Falzon.
For more information and to register for the seminar, click here.
