Bank of Valletta has been approached to join the local consortium bidding for HSBC Malta, MeetInc has learnt. The move is understood to have been made in recent days after some members of the consortium decided to pull out.

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The consortium — which includes several prominent local businesses — is one of only two bidders known to the public thought to still be in the running.

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Sources who spoke to MeetInc would not be drawn into whether the invitation was received favourably by BOV. The possible involvement of the bank comes despite earlier concerns raised by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana over the risk of reduced banking competition. Before APS Bank withdrew its interest, Caruana had warned that Malta needed “more banking competition than exists today, not less.”

While competition concerns were central to the APS bid — which would have seen one bank fully absorb another — the situation with BOV is different. If BOV were to join the consortium, it would be as one investor among several, rather than taking outright control of HSBC Malta. Even so, the bank’s involvement could still raise questions, given BOV’s position as one of Malta’s two systemic banks.

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APS officially pulled out of the race last week, while Hungarian bank OTP is also understood to have lost interest after public comments from the finance minister questioning the suitability of a buyer with a “less than stellar reputation.” That leaves the local consortium and German fintech giant RS2 as the only confirmed bidders, though other unnamed parties are also believed to have shown an interest.

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The shifting makeup of the consortium, combined with BOV’s potential involvement, adds a new layer of complexity to a transaction that is already testing the boundaries of competition policy and political consensus.

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Potentially bringing BOV into the mix underscores just how fluid the bidding process remains—and how few options are left on the table.

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