Page 33 - GEORptJun18

Net profit at Georgia’s TBC Bank flat year on year in first quarter
branches, 842 ATMs and 2,825 Express Pay (self-service) terminals and a sales force of more than 3,000 people.
It is also a leading corporate lender in the country, accommodating more than 2,500 businesses in Georgia and playing its part in developing various sectors of the economy such as trade, energy, industry and tourism. The corporate banking additionally serves as the country’s leading trade finance business and provides leasing services through the bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Georgian Leasing Company.
JSC Bank of Georgia has also been active in asset and wealth management since 2005. Accommodating 1,438 local and international clients from 74 countries worldwide, its wealth management business provides private banking services to high net-worth individual clients and offers investment management products internationally through representative offices in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Great Britain.
Georgia Capital PLC comprises of Georgia Global Utilities, m2 Real Estate, Teliani Valley beverage business, Aldagi property and casualty insurance business and investments in two London Stock Exchange premium-listed companies – Bank of Georgia Group PLC and Georgia Healthcare Group PLC.
Fellow Georgian lender TBC Bank last week issued its Q1 results , posting net profit of GEL97.5mn, which was up only marginally y/y, compared to GEL96.6mn a year ago and GEL96.8mn in 4Q 2017. TBC overtook Bank of Georgia in 2016 as the number one Georgian lender by acquiring the fourth largest bank in the country at the time, Bank Republic, from France's SocGen and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
8.2 Central Bank policy rate
Sberbank sees possible Georgia rate rise as seasonal tourism revenues start to lift lari
Georgia’s central bank raises key rate by 25bps to stave
Analysts are not ruling out a rate cut in Georgia at the next meeting of the country’s central bank on June 13, with the Georgian lari set to be supported by seasonal tourism revenues.
Sberbank CIB Investment Research observed in a May 4 note that despite a further slowing of inflation in Georgia to 2.5% y/y in April from 2.8% y/y in March and 6.7% y/y last December, the National Bank of Georgia on May 1 opted to leave its key policy rate unchanged.
“The regulator cited the high volatility in global financial markets, rising interest rates and weakness in EM currencies as some of the main reasons for its decision.
However, it did not see any domestic risks that could result in a significant deviation of inflation from the official 3% target,” the Sberbank analysts wrote. They added: “It could consider easing policy once external factors become more positive. A rate cut at the next meeting... cannot be ruled out, as the lari should be supported by an increased inflow of tourism revenues.”
Georgia's central bank decided to keep the country's key refinancing rate unchanged at 7.25% since December last year, the central bank reported on May 1. The reason behind the decision was the fact that the Georgian lari
33 GEORGIA Country Report June 2018 www.intellinews.com