Jeanelle Muscat (Bugeja)

Shift 4 history

Credorax Bank Limited was incorporated in March 2009 and was licenced to operate as a Payment Institution in 2010, obtained an e-money license in 2012, and finally upgraded to a credit institution license in June 2015, becoming a bank in accordance with the provisions of the Banking Act, Cap 371 of the Laws of Malta. Following a rebranding process, Credorax Group changed its brand name to Finaro.

In October 2023, the Credorax Group (Finaro) was acquired by Shift4 Payments Inc. (“Shift4”), an American payment service provider publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: FOUR). Shift4's key business objective is to redefine commerce by simplifying complex payments ecosystems across international markets. As a leader in commerce-enabling technology, Shift4 powers billions of payment transactions annually for hundreds of thousands of businesses across various industries. As a matter of fact, the acquisition has led to a re-evaluation of the Bank’s business model vis-à-vis the applicable requirements and rules in the context of the banking licensing regime. In view of the fact that the Company’s principal activity has been and remains the provision of integrated acquiring and payment processing services to merchants, the Company has concluded that it would be more appropriate for it to operate as a financial institution, and therefore surrendered its credit institution licence with effect from 28 November 2024, and thus Shift 4 operates as a financial institution.

Work responsibilities

As a manager, I oversee the team’s adherence to:

• Account ownership responsibilities regarding regulatory reports. Up until 28 November 2024, Shift 4 still had an active banking institutions licence, so our role as a team was to continue adhering with all the regulatory returns submissions being: COREP, FINREP, BR06, Payment Statistics, FATCA/CRS, DCS related reporting with the same frequency – monthly, quarterly and annually, whilst also ensuring that all validation queries from the authorities from the authorities were addressed promptly.
• Preparation of the Bank’s main regulatory reports being the ICAAP, ILAAP and Recovery Plan that are required to be prepared on annual basis together with the Bank's advisors;
• Annual delivery of presentations with respect to the Bank's ICAAP, ILAAP and Recovery Planto the Board of Directors and Risk & Audit Committees for the ultimate approval thereof;
• Played an integral role in annual financial projections processes that were used as part of the ICAAP, ILAAP and Recovery Plan calculations.
• Compliance with the regulatory framework & respective covenants on a monthly basis as part of the management accounts reporting pack
• Involved in a thorough understanding of the implications arising from the transition of the license from a Bank to a PI, including engaging in discussions with senior management on the regulatory reporting requirements and their potential impacts.
• Correspondence with regulators was also handled, ensuring that all requirements related to the change were addressed, with particular focus on both pre and post licensing conditions amongst which include: winding down of the banking licence, agreed upon procedures on the redemption of customer deposits, safeguarding requirements, prefunding analysis, depositor compensation scheme, monitoring updates on deposit account closures to ensure that all necessary closure forms are obtained and the correct amount of interest is paid.
• Assisted in the business plan required for the PI application, including the PI’s financial projections
• Involvement in the initial assessment and requirements gathering for the new PI return launched by the MFSA, which encompassed multiple reporting areas and required collaboration with various teams
• Project management and understanding of a new regulation from Greek authorities for the interconnectivity of merchants with the tax authorities, applicable for both Acquirers and NSPs
• Supported a sister entity in the UK to get it up to speed with the regulatory requirements it required.

During this time, I was on maternity leave from mid-July to December 2024.

• Preparation of the Bank’s main regulatory reports being the ICAAP, ILAAP and Recovery Plan
  that are required to be prepared on annual basis together with the Bank's advisors;
• Annual delivery of presentations with respect to the Bank's ICAAP, ILAAP and Recovery Planto the Board of Directors and Risk & Audit Committees for the ultimate approval thereof;
• Played an integral role in annual financial projections processes that were used as part of the ICAAP, ILAAP and Recovery Plan calculations.
• Assist in any new requirements imposed on the Bank with respect to new Regulatory Frameworks (e.g. CRR), MFSA Circulars, Supervisory Review Evaluation Process and any thematic reviews performed by the MFSA;
• Ensuring the incorporation of any feedback obtained from authorities, auditors and third parties into the Bank’s regulatory requirements & processes;
• Monitor compliance with the Bank’s policies and be responsible of annual updates/restatements
  to the Bank’s Finance policies whilst being involved in the documentation of the necessary
  accounting policies required;
• Conducted thorough quality checks on all reports before submission, minimizing errors and increasing credibility among stakeholders.
• Improved reporting accuracy by streamlining data collection and analysis processes to ensure that the team submits all the regulatory reporting requirements (COREP/FINREP/BR06/CRR/DCS/FATCA/CRS/Payment statistics);
• Served as a go-to resource for colleagues seeking assistance in navigating reporting issues or understanding intricate financial data;
• Consistently met deadlines with well-organized work plans and efficient time management skills.
• Mentored junior team members, fostering professional growth and improved performance within the department.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to gather accurate information for timely report creation.
• Preparation of ad hoc reports and other analyses as may be required by regulators and senior
  management, driving informed decision making - examples of which includes assessment when deposit products have been launched, when a loan would have been granted, discussions around card issuing business, support with the application of the UK Branch Licence)

Employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers Malta working in the Assurance Division on a full time basis, as a fully qualified accountant. Since my first year, I formed part of the Banking and Financial Institutions Group within the firm, and during the four years, I was gradually promoted further up the grades till I reached Assistant Manager role.

I have been primarily involved in a number of audits of banks and financial institutions including Lombard Bank, Banif Bank, IIG Bank, Credorax Bank and HSBC Bank plc. During the audits, I was responsible for auditing a number of financial statement line items, understanding various processes, performing walk-through tests on the clients’ systems, involved in the testing of a number of controls and ensuring the appropriate link between the two main functions being operational and financial. In addition, I was also involved in other non-audit assurance engagements such as assistance with ICAAPs, business plans and financial projections.

Between October 2014 up until March 2015 I was chosen for a secondment in the United States, where I spent the first 3 months working for PwC New York helping in a private equity fund with the name of ‘aPriori Investments’. The following 3 months I worked for PwC Los Angeles were I formed part of a large audit of ‘One West Bank’.

Between 5 July 2012 and 8 October 2012, I was chosen for another secondment to PwC Sydney where I spent three months working on international clients being JP Morgan (involved in the audit of investment portfolios), Propel Investments and Homicide Victims Support Group (charity organization).