Francis J. Vassallo

Francis J. Vassallo is a Maltese economist. He was Governor of the Central Bank of Malta from 1992 to 1997. He is also chairman of his own corporate services business Francis J. Vassallo & Associates Ltd.

Early life and education
Vassallo was born in Mdina and studied at the Lyceum and the Royal University of Malta where he graduated in economics in 1970.

Career
After a short traineeship with Scicluna in Malta he moved to Milan where he joined Chase Manhattan Bank working an analysis. He next moved to New York teaching credit analysis with Chase.

In 1979 Vassallo was transferred to London where he further specialised in gold. In 1983 he was appointed marketing manager to the bank's Gneva-based private banking arm and to the boards of Chase Bank & Trust in the Channel Islands and Chase Manhattan SA in Luxembourg.

Five years later Vassalo was transferred to Spain to manage a bank just bought by Chase Manhattan. After July 1991 he was jointly appointed general manager of Chase Manhattan Private Bank in Switzerland, responsible for Southern Europe.

In 1933, Vassallo left Chase Manhattan to take up the Governorship of the Central Bank of Malta. Vassallo was Governor from 1992 to 1997.

In 1998 Vassallo founded his own company, Francis J. Vassallo & Associates Ltd (FJVA), a corporate services provider licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The company group has since branched out, via FJV Fiduciary Limited and FJV Management Limited, into tax, trusts, foundations, regulatory advisory services and yacht registrations.

Francis J. Vassallo was also a member of the board of directors of FIMBank plc in 2019.

Private life
In 2000 Francis J. Vassallo joined the Order of Malta as a Knight of Magistral Grace. In November 2015 he took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the oratory of Saint John's Co-Cathedral.

Francis J. Vassallo was married to Erminia (Mimici) née Miceli Farrugia. They had three children: Alexia, Adriana and Steffan, and eight grandchildren. His wife Erminia passed in 2013.