Bank Of Valletta Launches Trust Account

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

03 May 2007

The Bank of Valletta has launched a new account based on the concept of a trust which, the bank said, will not only provide customers with discretion and confidentiality, but also a flexible and useful estate and inheritance planning vehicle.

"By opening a BOV Trust Account, customers would not only be ensuring that their money is in safe hands but will also be benefiting from the most exacting standards in terms of discretion and confidentiality,” said Paul Gauci, Head of BOV’s Trustee Services Unit.

“Discretion and confidentiality are key features that result from having the account opened in the name of the Bank that acts as Trustee and that is responsible to hold the funds for the benefit of the named beneficiaries selected by the depositor (the Settlor),” explained Dr. Andrew Chetcuti Ganado, Legal Advisor at BOV’s Trustee Services Unit. “Unlike any other bank account, upon the Settlor’s death, the designated beneficiary/beneficiaries of the BOV Trust Account will have immediate access to the funds in the account. As a result, this account is ideal to avoid any formal, lengthy and cumbersome succession procedures,” he added.

Dr. Chetcuti Ganado explained further that, unlike a will which is, effectively, a public document, the BOV Trust Account ensures that upon the Settlor’s death nobody needs to know who the designated beneficiaries are and how much each beneficiary is entitled to. He concluded that Malta is rapidly establishing itself as a centre of Trust Administration, with BOV at the forefront of this growth.

Customers can effect deposits and withdraw from the BOV Trust Account and even change the designated beneficiary at any time without any complexities. Withdrawals are subject to a 90-day notice period. Interest will be paid once a year and currently amounts to 3.75% gross per annum.

Designated beneficiaries of a BOV Trust Account may include the depositor/s himself/themselves, the surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, parents and grandparents, nephews and nieces, siblings, partners who jointly settle and Maltese charitable institutions as defined by the Trusts and Trustees Act.

The new Trust Account is the latest addition to a range of Deposit Opportunities in both Lm and in euro offered by Bank of Valletta plc.

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