Page 29 - bne IntelliNews Georgia country report November 2017

Gurgenidze and Romanian businessman Dinu Patriciu owned 91.2% of the shares in the bank. Liberty Bank is the largest of the 17 small banks in Georgia, accounting for a market share of 5.6%. TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia, the country's largest lenders, account for two-thirds of the market in terms of loans and deposits.
According to its half-year financial results, Liberty Bank experienced a 29.7% y/y growth in net income to GEL21mn (€7.43mn) and a 22.1% y/y growth in revenue, in line with the generally positive performance of the entire sector.
According to the statement of its Q2/H1 results, the bank has experienced a significant turnaround, going from a nearly bankrupt institution with negligible equity of under GEL15mn and negative regulatory capital to a bank with equity worth over GEL170mn and a return on assets that has been consistently above 20%.
8.2 Central Bank policy rate
Georgia’s central bank keeps key rate unchanged at 7% citing inflationary pressures
The central bank of Georgia kept its key interest rate unchanged at 7% at a meeting on October 15 after observing trends that suggest inflation will exceed the government's target of 4%, the regulator announced in a press release.
In recent years, maintaining a stable exchange rate for the lari has been a struggle for the central bank. The currency began to depreciate steeply in late 2014, losing almost 40% of its value against the dollar within a year. Since then, the lari has been through periods of both appreciation and steep depreciation. The evolution of consumer price inflation has followed that of the national currency; inflation has consistently remained above the regulator's target of 5% per annum since 2015.
In response, the central bank cut its rate several times in 2016, raising it by 25 basis points to 6.75% in January and up to 7% in May. Due to higher taxes, particularly on tobacco, vehicles and oil products, introduced earlier this year, and higher prices for some goods on foreign markets, the regulator expects inflation to remain above its target this year.
According to national statistics agency Geostat, annual consumer price inflation stood at 6.2% in September.
29 GEORGIA Country Report November 2017 www.intellinews.com