Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board since May 2013. A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Parliament of Malta (2010-2013) and a former Minister for Foreign Affairs (2004-2008). Dr Michael Frendo also held various other Ministerial portfolios including Information and Communication Technologies, Transport and Civil Aviation, and Culture, Broadcasting and Consumer Protection. Dr Frendo is a lawyer with a postgraduate specialisation in European Union law who has also worked in the private sector in both Malta and the United Kingdom. Dr Michael Frendo is a signatory of the Treaty of Lisbon and was a member of the European Convention on the Future of Europe. He has published widely including a number of books and articles on European, diplomatic and legal issues.

The current Chief Executive Officer of Al Faisal International for Investment Q.P.S.C., in Doha, Qatar. In 2014, the Sheikh Al-Thani was appointed member of the Al Faisal Holding Board of Directors and has led efforts in enhancing policies and governance structures within the company. Sheikh Al Thani holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from Stanford University in Virginia, the United States of America, and the Carnegie Mellon University in Doha, Qatar, and a High School Diploma from the American School of Doha, obtained in 2014.

Sheikh Mohammed Faisal Q.F. Al Thani has been Vice Chairman of the Board of Al Faisal Holding since 2010. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at the American University of Sharjah (UAE) and of the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences (Egypt), as well as being Honorary President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Qatar. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University, Qatar.

Sheikh Turki Faisal Q.F. Al Thani is Chairman of Al Sawari Holding Company and is also a member of the Board of Al Faisal Holding since 2014. Sheikh Turki Faisal Q.F. Al Thani is also Founder and CEO of Catalyst Company. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Georgetown University Qatar.

Director on the Board and member of the audit committee since 2016. A fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Malta Institute of Accountants. Mr Galea sits on the Accountancy Board, which is the accountancy profession regulator in Malta. He founded and served as Managing Partner and Chairman of Ernst & Young in Malta specialising mainly in auditing, until his retirement in 2012. Served on the Council of the Malta Institute of Accountants as Officer and President. Served on the Council of the Federation des Experts Comptables Europeens (FEE). More recently serving as independent non-executive director on the boards of a number of companies listed on the Malta Stock Exchange. Served as Chairman of the Malta Resources Authority. Serves as a member or chairman on a number of audit committees in both regulated and non-regulated sectors. He is engaged also in assisting the boards of a number of family businesses with governance, organisational and financial matters. Sits on a number of finance committees and currently serves as Chairman of the Ethics Committee and member of the Anti-Money Laundering Committee of the Malta Institute of Accountants.

Mr Mohammed Abdelqader Darwish Al Ramahi has been working in finance for over 30 years and has served as Group Finance Manager for the Al Faisal Holding Company from 2003 till 2007, and has also served as Chief Financial Officer and advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of Aamal Company since 2007. In 2018, Mr Ramahi was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer of Al Faisal Holdings, a position which he still holds to date. Mr Ramahi holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from the University of Jordan.

Director on the Board since April 2008. A qualified chartered accountant, after working with Touche Ross in London he returned to Malta to join the family business in 1971. He has served as Director on the Board of the Malta Development Corporation (1978-1980) and a number of other parastatal companies. He also served as Director on the Board of Mid-Med Bank Limited and of HSBC Fund Management (Malta) Limited. He is also Managing Director of SAK Limited, franchisee of The Body Shop in Malta, Managing Director of Muscat's Motors Limited and United Acceptances Finance Limited and a Director of a number of other Mizzi Organisation companies.

Mr Tarik Mahmut enjoys vast experience in managing companies and occupied various posts including the position of Group Chief Financial Officer at Al Faisal Holding Company in Qatar from 2001 to 2010. He also held the position of Board Members and Managing Director of Aamal Company Q.P.S.C from 2007 up until 2016, which is a company listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange enjoying a diversified business portfolio. In 2013, Mr Tarik occupied the role of Chairperson of Seldar Misr Group of Companies. Currently he occupies the role of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company (Known as ARTIC) since 2017. Mr Mahmut is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor Degree in Science and Accounting from the University of Cairo as well as Masters High Diploma in Banking and Finance from the Arab Academy based in Egypt.

Mr Borg, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK), holds a Banking and Finance Honours Degree and a Masters Degree in Financial Services from the University of Malta. He enjoyed a 34-year career at Bank of Valletta p.l.c. until December 2015. During this time he occupied various senior management positions, including that of Chief Executive Officer from 2012 to 2015. Prior to that, Mr Borg also served as Chief Officer, Financial Markets and Investments at BOV, with responsibility for all retail and wholesale funding of the BOV Group, as well as the management of BOV's treasury portfolio. Mr Borg also served as a Director of Valletta Fund Management Limited, of which he was also General Manager, Valletta Fund Services Limited and BOV Investments Limited. In addition, Mr Borg also served as a Director on other listed companies on the Malta Stock Exchange, including Mapfre Middlesea Insurance p.l.c. He also chaired the Audit Board of the European Investment Fund, a subsidiary of the European Investment Bank. He served as a Director on the World's Savings Bank in Brussels and was also the President of the Institute of Financial Services and the President of the Malta Bankers Association. Mr Borg is currently the CEO and an Executive Director of PG p.l.c which has recently been listed on the Malta Stock Exchange, and holds a number of other non-executive directorship positions in Malta. Apart from serving as a Non-Executive Director of BNF Bank p.l.c., Mr Borg also chairs the Bank’s Credit Approval Committee.

Juanita Bencini is a former KPMG partner where for 17 years she headed Risk Consulting Advisory within the Malta practice and for seven years was also Head of Risk Consulting within the KPMG international region of which the Malta practice forms part. Today, she works as a consultant to the financial services industry and is a professional director on boards of regulated entities. Her areas of expertise include risk management, financial services regulation, corporate governance and AML. She has also served as President of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners and today is still a Council member. She acts as Chair of the AML Committee of both the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners and the Malta Institute of Accountants.

Mr Johnson has a wealth of experience in Banking and other Financial Service industries where he occupied various senior management roles and served on a number of boards. Mr Johnson first joined the Royal Navy where he gained experience in a wide variety of activities including technology, operations and change across a number of sectors including IBM Consultancy. His recent Senior and Executive positions have included, Chief Information Officer and Chief Operations Officer at GMAC, Lloyds Bank and Aldermore Bank. Mr Johnson was also involved in the design and setup of a FinTech Blockchain based Bank. In addition to serving in BNF's Board, he is also an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of a regulated Bank in the UK.

Dr Jean Noel Cutajar is a lawyer by profession with his areas of expertise being focused on banking, finance and corporate law. Further to obtaining his Doctorate of Laws from the University of Malta in 2010, Dr Cutajar also attained a Masters in Laws degree specializing in banking and finance from the University of London in 2017. Throughout his career Dr Cutajar occupied the position of company secretary in different companies and held various roles at the Central Bank of Malta and HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., amongst others. Dr Cutajar also heads the Bank's Legal Department and is a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.

Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) since 2022, Mr El-Sayed Abdalla also serves as Chairman of Union de Banques Arabes et Françaises (UBAF). Prior to his joining the CBE, Abdalla founded and led Panther Associates, a boutique investment advisory and private equity firm and chaired both United Media Services (UMS) and Misr Spinning and Weaving (Al-Mahala Al-Kubra). During his over thirty years of experience, Abdalla served as Vice Chairman and Managing Director at Arab African International Bank, from 2002 until 2018, and held board seats in several reputable and international organizations including but not limited to the Central Bank of Egypt, the Egyptian Stock Exchange, the Egyptian National Competitive Council (ENCC), the Arab Business Council of World Economic Forum, the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the IIF Emerging Markets Advisory Council (Washington DC), and the London Stock Exchange's London Africa Advisory Group. He obtained his Bachelor's and Masters degrees from the American University in Cairo (AUC).