There are only 25 banks in Malta, and two of them dominate: Bank of Valletta and HSBC, each with roughly 45% of the local market. However, most banking activity is internationally oriented, so although the domestic retail and business market is close to saturation point there are still plenty of opportunities.
The country's list of banks is diverse, albeit dominated by those of European origin. Besides the two already mentioned, the list includes Akbank, Banif, Bawag, CommBank Europe, Deutsche, Erste, FIMBank, Fortis, National Bank of Greece, Raiffeisen, Sparkasse, Turkiye Garanti and Volksbank. Banif, from Portugal, is a recent entrant and is aggressively targeting the local retail market. CommBank Europe, owned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia, uses the island as a European project finance centre.
