MFSA launches Journal of Financial Supervisors Academy – Volume I

A New Chapter for Malta’s Financial Guardians: MFSA Launches First-Ever “Journal of Financial Supervisors Academy”

Valletta’s Grand Harbour shimmered under a late-spring sun this week as the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) unveiled Volume I of the Journal of Financial Supervisors Academy – a sleek, bilingual tome that locals are already calling “the little red book with a big Maltese heart”. Printed on recycled Gozo paper and bound in classic Maltese scarlet, the 180-page journal is the first peer-reviewed publication dedicated entirely to the craft of financial supervision, authored by Maltese regulators for Maltese regulators – and, crucially, for anyone who ever wondered what actually happens behind the closed doors at the MFSA’s Lascaris bastions.

For a country whose skyline still bears the salt-stained scars of the Knights’ fortifications, the launch felt less like a staid policy rollout and more like a village festa. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana cracked open a bottle of Gellewza wine instead of the customary champagne, joking that “our bubbles are the numbers in our annual report”. MFSA CEO Kenneth Farrugia, a Sliema boy who still sings in his local band club, compared the journal to a kazin debate: “It’s loud, it’s passionate, and everyone leaves knowing more than when they arrived.”

Inside the journal you’ll find everything from deep dives into crypto-asset supervision (co-written by a former altar boy turned blockchain specialist) to a photo essay on how Maltese festa fireworks budgeting can teach risk management. There’s even a short fiction piece – “Il-Kazin tal-Futur” – imagining a 2050 Marsaxlokk where fishermen trade tuna futures on solar-powered tablets. It’s a wink to Malta’s love of storytelling, wrapped in rigorous analysis.

Local impact is already visible. The University of Malta has added the journal to its Finance Friday reading list; students queued outside the campus bookshop for signed copies, some clutching pastizzi in paper bags like talismans. Meanwhile, the Gozo Business Chamber announced a stipend for two Gozitan students to intern at the MFSA’s new Research & Academy wing, ensuring the sister island’s voice is not just heard but funded.

Cultural resonance runs deep. The journal’s foreword quotes Dun Karm – “Min jaf li jien, jaf li l-art tagħna hi ġmielna” – reminding readers that regulation is not abstract bureaucracy but stewardship of a beloved homeland. Artist Pawlu Camilleri’s watercolours of traditional fishing boats open each chapter, linking compliance ratios to the curved prow of a luzzu. Even the ISBN ends with the digits 1798, a nod to the year of the Maltese uprising against the French – subtle, but locals spotted it within minutes on social media.

Community feedback has been swift and characteristically Maltese. Pensioner Maria Bonnici from Żabbar posted on Facebook that her grandson translated the crypto article into Maltese for her bridge club; now they debate DeFi over ftira at the parish centre. A Sliema start-up founder tweeted a photo of the journal propped against his Nonna’s statue of St. Publius, captioning it “Holy diversification”. The hashtag #MFSAjournal even trended above Eurovision memes for six straight hours – a national record.

Looking ahead, the MFSA promises Volume II next spring, featuring a special section on green finance co-edited with BirdLife Malta. Rumour has it the cover will be embossed with the national plant, the widnet il-baħar, its silver veins reflecting the island’s twin obsessions: sea and security.

As the sun set behind Manoel Island, Kenneth Farrugia closed the launch with a Maltese proverb: “Il-ħaddiem tal-lum hu l-ħakem ta’ għada.” Today’s diligent worker is tomorrow’s leader. With the Journal of Financial Supervisors Academy now on coffee tables from Mellieħa to Marsascala, Malta’s financial guardians have not only documented their craft – they’ve invited every citizen to read, question, and shape the island’s fiscal future. The kazin doors are open; the conversation has just begun.