News | Sunday, 22 February 2009

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Mintoff’s role in National Bank downfall

Mr Raymond Sammut’s recent letters to your newspaper espousing Dom Mintoff’s genius for nationalising the National Bank of Malta leave me flabbergasted. His genius can be observed with his presentation of the new Coat of Arms of Malta which included the sun, prickly pears and a Maltese dghajsa, making it look more like the work of a ten-year-old, and making a mockery of besides causing much embarrassment to the Maltese population.
With regards to Mintoff’s genius in the National Bank of Malta saga, Mr Sammut seems to be unaware of certain facts involved in the case. For example, instead of allowing the Central Bank of Malta to act as the Bankers’ last resort, or indeed allowing the NBM to seek assistance from foreign banks (which was forthcoming), Mintoff threatened to withdraw all parastatal funds from the National Bank group which would not only have crippled the bank, but would have jeopardised the livelihood of thousands of Maltese citizens. His attitude was ‘sink or swim alone’. Those who remember those days will recall that unlike the present worldwide financial crisis, the National Bank crisis was of Mintoff’s making, and of his communist leanings and dictatorial ways that had brought about great fears and mistrust amongst the business community.
The ‘Genius’, weighed down by a big chip on his shoulder, his enormous belt buckle and windcheater, tried to project himself as the next Fidel Castro when he took over a banking group by using bully boy tactics and threats. Who can forget those tyrannical times when the thugs from Zejtun and the notorious Fusellu reigned supreme? Do not underestimate the intimidation which those people brought on people in those days. I assure you, the Bank’s shareholders were greatly intimidated and proof of this is that a number of them had policemen knocking on their doors in the dead of night demanding that they either sign over their shares or else…!
The NBM saga was of Mintoff’s doing, as instead of reassuring the public he inflamed the situation in order to get more people to withdraw their deposits. Indeed Mintoff’s genius was that he managed to get a bank for free and get away with it. The NBM still made a profit in its first year operating under the new name of Bank of Valletta.
The NBM, a bank owned entirely by Maltese, was the backbone of Maltese enterprise; it was this bank which financed most business on the Maltese islands, including tourism, then still a fledging and struggling industry (despite the Coat of Arms).
The shareholders of the National Bank of Malta should have been compensated long ago rather than being forced into opening court cases against the government. The courts, (very conveniently for the government) have been procrastinating on a decision for over 30 years. Compensation is not only a right but also a question of morality, but morality in politics does not exist.

George Schivagnotis
Sliema

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