Receiver of the common treasure
Minister of Finance
The Receiver of the Common Treasure – the Minister of Finance – directs the administration of the finances and the property of the Order in coordination with the Grand Chancellor. Under the authority of the Grand Master and the surveillance of the Board of Auditors. He is responsible for drawing up the annual accounts, relating to the economic and financial state of the Order, submitting them to the Board of Auditors and to the Grand Master, with the advice of the Sovereign Council, for approval
Receiver of the Common Treasure, H.E. Fra’ Francis J. Vassallo, Professed Knight in Solemn Vows
Born in Malta in 1948, Fra’ Francis graduated with a BA (Hons) in Economics from the Royal University of Malta in 1969. He was subsequently hired at Chase Manhattan Bank in Milan. After completing the Chase International Management Program, he moved to the headquarters in New York.
His international assignments included positions in the Dominican Republic, New York, London, Geneva, and Madrid, rising to senior executive roles. He was appointed General Manager of Chase Spain and Joint General Manager of Chase Switzerland. He held key responsibilities in commodities, private banking and institutional governance, serving on the boards of Chase Luxembourg and Chase Channel Islands.
In 1993, he was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Malta. After his term, he founded his own financial consultancy firm, Francis J. Vassallo & Associates.
Fra’ Francis joined the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 2000 as a Knight of Magistral Grace and made the Promise of Obedience in 2008. He took his First Vows as a Professed Knight of Justice in 2015, just after his wife passed away and his Solemn Vows in 2021. He has held several prominent positions in the banking sector in Malta, including Non-Executive Director of FIMBank, Chairman of BAWAG Malta, and Chairman of Mediterranean Bank. In 2009, he was appointed Special Envoy Ambassadorial Status of Malta to Latin America to negotiate tax treaties on behalf of Malta with various countries in the region.
He was decorated as Officer of the Order of Isabella la Catolica by King Juan Carlos of Spain and awarded the Order of Merit by the Republic of Malta. Fra’ Francis has three children and eight grandchildren.
He took office as Receiver of the Common Treasury on 23 June 2025.
