Debt in Malta

Before a consumer credit agreement is concluded, the creditor must assess the borrower's creditworthiness, and the borrower must provide sufficient information for that assessment. A monthly exposure above €5,000 is reported to Malta's Central Credit Register, or CCR, operated by the Central Bank of Malta. A natural person can obtain their own CCR extract free of charge. If a creditor rejects an application because of database information, the applicant must receive that information promptly and free of charge. The CCR supports credit-risk assessment and related financial analysis, but it does not record every type of household debt and is not a complete household-debt register. Personal loans and credit cards normally come with a Standard European Consumer Credit Information form, known as SECCI. The annual percentage rate of charge, or APRC, allows credit-related costs to be compared, although the comparison remains useful only when the credit amounts, terms and repayment pattern are comparable. The creditor must provide an amortisation table on request. Full or partial early repayment reduces the remaining interest and credit costs, while any compensation charged by the creditor must be fair and objectively justified. A home-loan applicant should receive an European Standardised Information Sheet, or ESIS, before becoming bound and has a reflection period of at least seven days. Secured credit may use a hypothec over property or a pledge over an asset. Late bills, past-due notices and repeatedly carrying an unpaid credit-card balance are early signs that repayment capacity is under pressure. A workable review lists income, spending, debts and assets, then gives priority to debts whose non-payment could threaten housing, essential services or legal compliance. ĠEMMA recommends contacting creditors early, requesting a voluntary arrangement or negotiated instalments, and preparing a budget and action plan. Benefits Finder and the 153 service can help identify possible support. FSWS Community, Generic and Gozo services can provide assessment, guidance, advocacy and financial-hardship support. Supportline 179 operates around the clock for referrals, but it is not a specialised statutory debt service. Malta had no evidenced general consumer debt-advice and debt-relief pathway at the time of the research. A free, confidential and impartial national debt-advice service and MCAST debt-adviser training were proposed in 2024. Public reporting in 2026 described Flusi Malta as having its first qualified advisers, but its eligibility rules, intake process, enforcement authority and power to reduce or discharge debts were not verified. It should therefore be treated as an emerging service rather than an established universal debt solution. A Credit Servicer in Malta must be authorised. Its activities can include collecting or recovering debt, renegotiating repayment terms, handling complaints and providing information about interest, charges and payments. It must communicate clearly, act in good faith and treat borrowers fairly and professionally without harassment, coercion or undue influence. If a non-performing loan is transferred, the borrower should receive the transfer date, the identity and contact details of the Credit Purchaser and Credit Servicer, authorisation information, the capital balance, interest, fees and charges, and the competent complaints authority before the first collection contact or on request. The original credit agreement protections continue after the transfer, and the servicer's complaint-handling process must be free. A complaint normally starts with the bank, creditor or Credit Servicer in writing. The provider should have at least 15 working days to respond and may take up to 35 working days. An individual or micro-enterprise can then use the free and independent Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services, or OAFS, process against a provider licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority. A complaint must generally be registered within two years of the complainant becoming aware of the matter. An OAFS decision is generally binding, subject to an appeal to the Court of Appeal in its inferior jurisdiction. The Malta Financial Services Authority supervises licensed providers but does not act as an individual redress authority. If a creditor obtains an executive title, enforcement can include seizure of movable or immovable property, seizure of a commercial going concern, judicial sale by auction or an executive garnishee order directed at money held by a third party. For other executive titles, enforcement generally begins only after at least two days have passed from judicial intimation for payment. A garnishee normally has 19 days to deposit the attached funds. Salary and wages, Social Security benefits, pensions, Housing Authority benefits and certain protected accounts are generally shielded from attachment. Salary attachment remains subject to the statutory exemption threshold, including the changes under L.N.155/2026 effective from 22 May 2026. A court can reduce an attachment or vary an order when the debtor proves a maintenance need. A judicial letter under Article 166A can become ineffective for proceedings if it is not served within six months. Court, lawyer and enforcement costs depend on the case. The Commercial Code primarily addresses traders, but a creditor can ask the Civil Court's Commercial Section to declare a natural person bankrupt for a commercial or non-commercial debt. The creditor must provide security equal to at least 10% of the debt or €1,000, whichever is higher, and the hearing notice can be no more than 30 days from the declaration. The debt register distinguishes commercial from personal debt. A debt agreement or income payment plan may be available. After fulfilment, a natural person can be rehabilitated to trade by operation of law, and automatic discharge expressly concerns earlier commercial debts after fulfilment; this is not a general erasure of consumer debt. The Pre-Insolvency Act and the Official Receiver at the Malta Business Registry provide preventive restructuring, early-warning tools and restructuring plans mainly for companies and traders, not a general household debt service. Civil legal aid depends on both means and the merits of the case. The stated means limits include net property of no more than €13,000 during the preceding 12 months and income no higher than the national minimum wage during that period. Evidence can include Department of Social Security income records, FS3 forms, payslips, bank statements, rent information, asset details and court papers. An eligible applicant receives a legal-aid lawyer; private adviser fees arise only when the person separately instructs a private adviser. Malta has no evidenced regional or municipal split in the national debt framework. Courts, the Malta Financial Services Authority, the Central Bank of Malta and FSWS serve Malta and Gozo through the national system, with English and Maltese used for access. Household debt stood at about 48.5% of GDP in 2025, while household leverage was about 23.8%; these aggregate figures do not show an individual person's ability to repay. Resident-bank non-performing loans were about 1.7% at the end of 2025, with mortgage non-performing loans around 1.0% and consumer-credit non-performing loans around 3.0%. FSWS referrals involving financial difficulties represented 21% of primary issues in 2024, which signals demand for support but does not measure the prevalence of debt. Malta's government debt, reported at 47.4% of GDP in 2024, belongs to public debt management and does not provide assistance for private debtors.