Our financial experts need to get off the fence and should stop giving us ambiguous messages. Reading what they told The Times on Friday one is either baffled, or sceptical on whether they are just trying to keep the politicians and bankers happy and avoid consumer panic.
The latter has happened in Greece, where panic withdrawals by customers in Athens and Thessaloniki has pushed the Greek government into issuing a blanket guarantee of all bank deposits, following Ireland’s example.
According to Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writing for Telegraph.co.uk, the panic in Greece is creating an unstoppable stampede across Europe for an EU-wide bail of the financial system.
However, so far most European leaders are not happy with Ireland’s lead. They met in Paris yesterday to decide on how to deal with the crisis.
The US, where it all started, might seem far away, but this is happening on our doorstep. Yet, some financial experts here are giving mixed messages. According to The (Malta) Times the analysis is that Malta “may have to strap itself in for a bumpy ride on the economic front but the financial system should be able to weather the prevailing international upheaval with relative ease.”
So what is the ride going to be like? Bumpy or easy? It is either one or the other.
"The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has repeatedly highlighted that tight credit conditions pose a particularly serious downside risk to consumer spending, business investment and the housing market over the coming months," Evans-Pritchard reported.
“The turmoil is expected to usher in a global economic recession, which will hit Europe and inevitably impact Malta negatively”, said The Times. However, local financial experts seem to concur that “local banks and the financial system in general are in a position to withstand the current crisis without any major hang ups”, the report added.
Somehow, it seems that although we are part of Europe, we are positioned in a safety orb protecting us from the global crisis heralding economic recession, according to the experts.
Alfred Mifsud, once a Mid Med Bank Chairman, says the Maltese financial system has weathered global recessions in the past and is well positioned to do so this time round.
"Malta is obviously part of the world and we will feel the pinch on the economic and financial front but, while economically it may be too early to say what the damage will be, from the financial point of view the effects will mostly be felt on the investments which the Maltese have in the international financial markets," he told The Times.
So the next time we need a loan from the bank we need not worry, people need not worry about losing their jobs and the tourism industry, which generates most of our income, will not be affected. I am no financial expert but I don’t think so.
Tonio Depasquale, BOV’s CEO told Business Today: “As soon as the crisis in Wall Street starts hitting Main Street then all economies around the world will be affected and the Maltese economy is no exception since we operate in a global market”. An unambiguous message at last. However, it is the crisis in Main Street that has hit Wall Street and that is why we should worry.
Economic analyst John Cassar White, a former Malta Drydocks and Malta Ship building chairman, gave us another mixed message through The Times. He concurred “with the forecast regarding the financial sector but warned that the economic impact is likely to be very significant”. So does he concur that we will weather the financial storm with relative ease, or is the impact going to be “very significant”?
“My worry is that people who are not into the international financial markets may not realise how serious this situation is”, he said.
Indeed.
A Bank of England survey warned that banks intend to tighten their lending criteria, paving the way for higher interest rates and bigger advancement fees for both businesses and consumers in the coming months.
"A further decline in secured credit availability was expected. Expectations for house prices and concern about the economic outlook were reported to have been factors contributing to this tightening," said the report.
Hetal Mehta, senior economic advisor to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, told The Telegraph “what was most worrying was the fact that the survey's results pre-dated the worst of the recent financial turmoil, which was likely to have made banks even less willing to lend.” And Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, said: "The fact that the situation has deteriorated markedly further since the survey was completed makes the situation even more worrying.” On Friday, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the world stood on the “edge of the abyss” gripped by a global financial crisis now threatening industry, trade and jobs worldwide.
But we Maltese need not worry. The same guardian angel that saves us from many traffic accidents, despite the anarchy on our roads, will spread its wings further to protect us from the rest of the world’s economic crisis.

Quality of life
So MEPA insists that a decision, to allow the construction of a small enterprise park on virgin land at T'Alla w Ommu Hill, is in line with its efforts to keep reducing small businesses in residential areas.
“Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by nature create an inconvenience and are highly incompatible with residential areas,” it was quoted. Too right, but I do wish MEPA were consistent.
If that is what it is striving for, how come a trader has been given a permit to use one of his garages as a store for goods in a small residential street in Sliema, disrupting the peace most evenings, Sundays and other holidays?
If people buy property in streets where commercial activity in garages takes place, they would have been aware of the nuisance.
But for MEPA to give permits for garages to be used for commercial purposes, in established residential areas where no other such activity had been occurring, is outrageous in view of their statement.
Planners here do not seem to have a clue about what constitutes “quality of life”. For a start noise, in Malta, seems to be seen as an enhancer to a qualitative life. Not one week goes by without some big noisy activity taking place, besides the daily bombardments.
A new Church Environment Committee report states that a study of 14 feasts between 2006-2007 showed that the acceptable noise level of 110 dBA was exceeded several times and that noise levels were also often excessive during ground firework displays. That is putting it mildly.
Panic seems to set in whenever a lull occurs and frenzy is soon restored to ensure we are all kept on edge.
Then of course there are the daily horn blowing, discos on wheels and alarms setting off the dogs, not to mention construction noise.
If I were a town planner able to implement my ideas, I would create residential zones according to the life styles of the residents.
For example, I would have a zone for dog lovers. In that way nobody would be disturbed, or lose sleep, because of barking, whelping, howling and whining dogs.
All the people in the zone would be dog owners and lovers so they would probably find the noise endearing.
There would be zone for pigeon fanciers, where the residents would have to clean out the filth they (the birds) create.
Another zone would be for smokers. They could pollute the air to their heart’s content. In fact, I would make smokers wear special hats, so we could hold our breath as they approach since they reek of the stuff even when they are not puffing.
One zone would be for people who are slightly deaf or just love being loud in their conversations and insist their neighbours share their conversations and the choice of TV programme.
I would give the pavements and promenades back to the public. I would start by getting rid of the slummy kiosks on the promenades.
Of course the dog owners and smokers would have their own promenades so the rest of us would not have to worry about stepping on smelly, gooey dog shit and inhaling second-hand smoke.
What lovely walks we could have without all that and not having to watch obese people stuffing their faces with fatty foods and ice cream every few paces.
I can dream can’t I?

pamelpacehansen@gmail.com