Page 45 - GEORptOct22

8.1.4 NPLs
NPL ratio for Georgia’s banks at 5% in 1Q 2022
According to National Bank of Georgia (NBG), the volume of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the country accounted for around 5% of the banking system’s loan portfolio in March 2022.
The NBG said that against the background of the crisis of 2020, the volume of NPLs doubled compared to the previous year and accounted for 8.4% of the banking system’s loan portfolio. The NPL ratios increased by 4.8pp and 4.6pp in 2020 at the systemic banks, Bank of Georgia and TBC Bank, respectively. Their NPL ratios were 8.4% and 7.7% respectively.
According to the official classification in Georgia, "non-performing loans" are loans of "non-standard, doubtful and loss category".
8.1.5 Bank news
Georgia’s TBC Bank maintains firm growth
TBC UZ said to demonstrate resilience in challenging environment
Georgia's TBC Bank maintained strong growth in the first half despite a challenging geopolitical environment.
TBC reported a net profit of GEL235mn ($87mn) in the second quarter to 30 June, up 5% from the first quarter of the year, which according to the bank's statement, was due to substantial income generation.
However, the figure was down 6% y/y, reflecting a high base a year ago when profits were boosted by provision recoveries of GEL50mn and gains of GEL26mn from a property disposal.
The q/q rise came despite tourism recovery from COVID-19 having slowed in Georgia. However, the negative impact was compensated by a higher migration to the country from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
Digital bank TBC UZ has demonstrated resilience in a challenging environment, according to Georgia-based TBC Bank Group's half-year report.
By the end of June, balances on the accounts of the bank's customers were at a new high of Georgian lari (GEL) 235.78mn ($84.5mn), or 1.6% of all deposits placed int he banks of Uzbekistan. In relation to the end of the first quarter, the indicator increased by almost 40%. From the beginning of the year, it was up by 13.6%.
“The volume of lending over the past three months has increased by 26%, since the beginning of the year its growth has been almost twofold. At the end of the half-year, it reached $64.99mn - 0.8% of the total bank loan portfolio,” the report read.
The number of registered users of the TBC UZ application reached 1.76mn people, having expanded by 17.3% since the previous quarter, or 5.8 times year on year.
Meanwhile, according to the report, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was expected to have an adverse impact on Uzbekistan in terms of exposure to remittances from Russia. However, the TBC Bank Group expected that this circumstance would be mitigated to a large extent by an increase in the value of commodity exports, as already evidenced by a strong 93% y/y growth in Uzbek exports in USD in the first five months of the year.
45 GEORGIA Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com