Bank of Valletta held its 52nd annual general meeting, during which shareholders approved one of the highest dividend payouts in recent years. The AGM also reflected on another year of solid financial performance and outlined the group’s direction as it prepares for its next strategic cycle.
The BOV Group’s chairperson, Gordon Cordina, and CEO Kenneth Farrugia addressed the shareholders present, explaining the group’s financial performance achieved in 2025, and the ongoing ambitious projects.
Shareholders approved a final gross cash dividend of €65.1 million from the end-of-year 2025 profits.
Over and above, shareholders will be taking a special dividend of €10.4 million gross. This brings the total gross dividend distribution for financial year 2025 to €130.5 million, equivalent to €0.2032 per share.
‘A stronger and more resilient bank’
Addressing shareholders, Cordina highlighted the bank’s sustained performance in recent years and its continued focus on delivering long-term value.
“Over the past three years, the bank has built strong earnings momentum, achieving record results in 2024 and maintaining a robust performance in 2025,” he said. “This has enabled us to significantly increase dividend distributions, while sustaining the bank’s strong capital and liquidity buffers.”
Cordina also highlighted a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening shareholder value, including the ‘Share Buy-Back Programme’, which supported market activity and liquidity.
The bank’s share price rose from €1.56 at the end of 2024 to €1.89 by the end of 2025, reaching €2.10 by March 2026, with BOV shares being by far the most actively traded on the Malta Stock Exchange.
He reiterated the bank’s role in supporting Malta’s economy, as well as its commitment to customers and the wider community.
“BOV remains focused on creating sustainable value for its customers, shareholders and all stakeholders, while continuing to support economic development in Malta,” he said.
‘A more accessible and personal bank’
Farrugia said the bank was entering its next strategic phase from a position of strength, with a clear focus on improving customer experience.
“Our strong performance has given us the capacity to invest in strengthening customer access to the bank, ensure resiliency and efficiency through technology, nurture human capital, aiming to sustain the delivery of long-term shareholder value.
“We are now moving towards positioning the bank more strongly as a more accessible and personalised financial services provider.”
He pointed to the progress made in recent years, including the refurbishment of 11 branches and agencies, as well as the opening of a new business hub bringing together commercial banking services.
On the digital side, he highlighted the bank’s continued investment in innovation.
“We continue to invest heavily, empowering customers to self-service their needs from wherever they are. Our new omnichannel e-banking platform is now in its final phase and will soon be rolled out to the first cohort of customers, as is our investment in the new generation of ATMs. We consolidated our payment solutions under the BOV SmartPay brand, while also rolling out digital onboarding solutions giving our customers the choice of options to engage with the bank.”
Looking ahead, Farrugia outlined the bank’s priorities for the coming years.
“We will continue to invest in improving customer journeys across all channels, strengthening our cybersecurity capabilities, and making better use of data to deliver more seamless, secure and, more importantly, personalised services,” he said.
Board appointments
During the meeting, Kelvin Camenzuli was appointed to the board. He is replacing Nicola Angeli, who did not seek reappointment.
On behalf of the board, the chairperson thanked Angeli for his exemplary contributions during his years of service.
Camenzuli’s appointment is subject to regulatory approval, and his effective date of appointment shall be the date of receipt of his regulatory approval.
The AGM has reappointed Robert Suban for another term as non-executive director, and Cordina, nominated by the government as a qualifying shareholder, for a third consecutive and final term, in accordance with the bank’s memorandum and articles.
The board of directors is now composed of: Gordon Cordina as chairperson and non-executive director; Kenneth Farrugia and Anatoli Grech as executive directors; and Ingrid Azzopardi, Christian Bonnici West, Diane Bugeja, Kelvin Camenzuli (subject to regulatory approval), Anita Mangion, Hadrian Sammut, Deborah Schembri, Jonathan Spiteri, Robert Suban and Sue Vella as non-executive directors.
