On the 1st January 2002, the banking regulatory and supervisory function was transferred from the Central Bank of Malta to the then Malta Financial Services Centre. Subsequently, on the 1st October 2002, the MFSC became the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and assumed its full regulatory and supervisory powers as the single regulator for financial services in Malta, in terms of the Malta Financial Services Authority Act, 2002. Through this process the MFSA is the single regulator for banking, financial institutions, insurance companies and insurance intermediaries, investment services companies and collective investment schemes, securities markets, recognized investment exchanges, trust management companies, company services providers and pension schemes. Since 2018, it is also responsible for regulating Virtual Financial Assets.