BOV foundation closes five pillars with financial literacy

Bank of Valletta's Ernest Agius has closed the BOV Foundation's five-pillar series with education, arguing that lasting community impact depends on giving people practical skills rather than one-off handouts. In a Malta Independent commentary published on 2 August 2026, the bank's chief operations officer framed lifelong learning–especially financial literacy–as central to confidence, resilience and wider participation in society.

Agius said education does not begin and end at school. Technology, digital banking and shifting economic pressures are changing how people work, communicate and manage money, making financial skills a core life competence. Knowing how to save, budget, plan ahead, recognise risk and make informed choices, he wrote, is about control and wellbeing as much as numbers.

That work starts early. Through BOV outreach during SkolaSajf, children are introduced to saving, spending, budgeting and choice-making in age-appropriate ways. For adults, the Foundation points to community-based sessions on household budgets, home ownership, retirement planning, safe use of digital channels and spotting fraud–delivered through local councils, schools, voluntary groups and other settings where guidance feels practical and local.

Agius also linked financial education to inclusion and safeguarding. A recent agreement between the bank, the Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence and the Local Government division aims to use financial literacy to support economic independence as part of wider domestic-violence prevention. He said external recognition of BOV's financial-education work is welcome, but the real measure remains people reached: a child who understands saving, an adult who decides with more confidence, or someone who avoids a scam because they recognised the warning signs.

The piece is the fifth and final instalment in the Foundation's series covering social inclusion, culture and heritage, environmental sustainability, ethical conduct in sport, and education. Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is regulated by the MFSA and licensed to carry out banking and investment services under the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta) and the Investment Services Act (Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta).