Left to right: Mr Giovanni Bartolotta (Chief Risk Officer, APS Bank), Ms Liana DeBattista (Chief Strategy Officer, APS Bank), Dr Jake Adam Azzopardi (CEO, Foundation for Affordable Housing and Dr Stefan Cutajar (Policy Consultant, Ministry for Social and Affordable Accommodation)
APS Bank plc and the Foundation for Affordable Housing signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 15 September 2023, solidifying their partnership for present and future collaboration.
At the heart of this alliance, APS Bank becomes a strategic partner with the Foundation for Affordable Housing, aligning efforts to realise a shared vision. The collaborative effort supports the Foundation, a venture between the Government of Malta and the Archdiocese of Malta, focusing on accessible and affordable housing solutions.
This partnership aims to assess the local housing market and propose strategies to improve affordability, especially for those struggling to meet their housing needs. Together, they will publish reports addressing current property market challenges and advocating for viable solutions.
Liana DeBattista, Chief Strategy Officer at APS Bank, highlighted, “Adequate and affordable housing holds the key to health, education, and economic progress, crucial for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainability is at our core, as the Community Bank in Malta.”
Commenting on the signing of the memorandum of understanding, Foundation for Affordable Housing’s Chief Executive, Dr Jake Azzopardi, said that the Foundation’s principal aim is to actively provide affordable housing solutions and quality supply. Specifically targeted will be the categories of people who are facing affordability challenges in the current market conditions, despite not being welfare dependents. Attaining this will require building a wide coalition of partners from the private and the public sectors. Dr Azzopardi said that this agreement “marks the beginning of a long-term relationship with a strategic partner which shares the values of the Foundation for Affordable Housing. The collaboration with a widely respected leader in the local banking sector continues to breed trust in the mission and the plan of the Foundation, and augurs well for the attainment of its ambitions in ensuring everyone access to an affordable home.”
