He started his career as a junior at Bank of Valletta plc and after graduating from the Malta Institute of Accountants he joined Melita Bank International Ltd, an offshore subsidiary of Istituto Bancario San Paulo di Torino, now San Paulo-Imi as assistant accountant. In March 1995 he joined First International Merchant Bank (FIM Bank), a trade finance bank based in Malta as Head of Finance (then a start-up operation). In December 1996, he joined Raiffeisen Malta Bank (also a start-up operation) plc as General Manager. He became Managing Director on 1 March 2010. Mr Schembri has a Masters’ Degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Malta and a degree in German from the Goethe Institute. He is currently researching for a Ph D in “Securitisation”.