More than 90% of the businesses supported by the Malta Development Bank since its launch are small and medium-sized enterprises, according to Chief Executive Officer Alison Micallef.

Speaking in an interview with The Malta Independent, Micallef said the bank has assisted around 750 firms over the past eight years, with the overwhelming majority being SMEs.

She said the MDB’s focus reflects the structure of Malta’s economy, where small businesses dominate in number but often face greater difficulty accessing finance. Citing National Statistics Office data, Micallef noted that 99.6% of non-financial companies in Malta are classified as SMEs, even though they generate less than half of total net turnover.

According to Micallef, this imbalance means smaller firms often need more targeted support, particularly when commercial lenders are unable or unwilling to take on the risk.

The MDB was set up in 2017 to intervene in cases of market failure, meaning situations where viable projects struggle to secure financing. Rather than replacing private lenders, the bank works alongside commercial banks through risk-sharing structures designed to improve the bankability of projects.

Micallef said this role becomes especially important in areas such as innovation, energy resilience and long-term infrastructure, where repayment periods are longer and risk appetite is often lower.

One of the bank’s better-known schemes is StudentAssist, through which around 900 students have received a combined €38 million in financing for higher education. Under the programme, students can access interest-free loans of up to €100,000 to cover tuition, accommodation and related costs, with BOV and APS acting as partner banks.

Micallef also pointed to the MDB’s role during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the bank estimates it helped safeguard around 40,000 jobs and supported activity equivalent to 13% of Malta’s gross value added.

Earlier this year, the MDB became the smallest bank in Europe to pass the European Commission’s pillar assessment, enabling it to access InvestEU guarantees directly and broaden the financing tools available to Maltese businesses.

Looking ahead, Micallef said the MDB is focusing on productivity, innovation and energy resilience as priorities that will shape Malta’s long-term competitiveness. She added that while the bank is aligned with national and EU policy goals, its decisions remain financial rather than political.

“Our decisions are banking decisions, not political decisions,” she said, stressing that all projects must remain financially viable and subject to disciplined risk assessment.