NEW YORK — The Insurance Federation of New York last week presented its annual Free Enterprise Award to Jesmond Gatt, chairman of the Malta Financial Services Authority.
Accepting the award at a lunch Nov. 20 in New York, Mr. Gatt said Malta and the United States have a history of collaboration in financial services, with Malta, as a European Union member, providing an entry point to the 27 countries in the EU market.
“This is particularly valuable for innovative entrepreneurs who are pioneering new insurance technologies, digital platforms and alternative risk transfer mechanisms,” he said.
Before being named head of Malta’s financial services regulator in 2023, Mr. Gatt spent 37 years at the Central Bank of Malta, where, among other appointments, he was responsible for retail banking and management of currency, including being part of the team that oversaw Malta’s conversion to the Euro in 2008.
Malta has a well-established captive insurance industry and expects to see further growth, Mr. Gatt said in an interview. Malta has 13 captives, according to Business Insurance’s most recent ranking, and as the only EU domicile with protected cell company legislation, it also has about 60 captive cells.
“It’s clear that our industry has become more mature in its ability to meet risk and we know that American companies are very strong on this expectation. I do think that now could be the right time for us,” he said.