IMF Staff Country Reports

This paper reviews economic developments in Malta during 1995–97. The brisk pace of GDP growth was maintained in 1995–96. However, the strong output growth was accompanied by a sharp deterioration in the external accounts, reflecting, in the main, a decline in national savings, from 27¾ percent of GDP in 1992–93 to some 20 percent of GDP in 1995–96. Factors contributing to these developments included a marked loosening in the fiscal stance and accelerated growth in bank lending, linked in part to financial market deregulation and intensified competition among banks.