The share of pawnshops in the total number of loans issued by the sector is 92%.Accordingly, only 8% is distributed between consumer and micro lending.At the moment, 29 MFOs remain on the market, with a loan portfolio of more than 2 billion GEL, of which more than 45% comes from the country's main pawnshop "Rico".The part of MFOs that finance real business, in the TOP - 6, does not consider it appropriate to group them with pawnshops, but this is an established practice and the media also follows it.However, to clarify that MFO Swiss Capital (SCAPP) and MFO Lazika Capital have a different ambition and, accordingly, a different business model from "pawnshop MFOs". They follow the chosen path systematically, despite internal and external challenges.Internal, mainly concerns regulations, and adaptation slows down the development process. However, according to market participants, this does not mean that it is better to operate without regulation for acceleration.External, in accordance with geopolitical risks, is related to a change in the mood of covenants, whether inspired from within the country or outside it. When an investor, fund, international financial organization, various donors, face a dilemma whether to finance a credit organization or pause it for a certain period.Increased risk means pause, and pause means a delay in access to credit resources. Accordingly, the passivity of the subject in the lending market and less money in the agricultural, tourist, processing, service and other entrepreneurial or service-providing sectors.

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In 2025, TBC Bank advanced to the next stage of its data and AI transformation, transitioning from experimentation to large-scale impact through several key initiatives. GenAI-powered chatbots, launched in the third quarter of 2025, now handle over 100,000 interactions per month with a 50% offloading rate. Internally, more than 70 workflows, from document processing to reporting, are already automated or AI-assisted.In addition, TBC Bank Group deployed eight RAG-based (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) knowledge bases, which offer instant access to verified institutional knowledge across key functions, including risk, legal, operations, and HR.“Together, these advancements demonstrate how data and AI capabilities are now deeply embedded in TBC Bank’s operating model, delivering tangible impact across customer experience, efficiency, and decision making”, - TBC PLC declares.In addition, TBC further strengthened its cybersecurity capabilities to support resilient digital growth and expansion. Development teams were empowered through secure coding trainings, promoting a culture of secure-by-design engineering. The group-level Security Operations Centre capabilities were enhanced with advanced threat intelligence, enabling faster detection and response to emerging threats.

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Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said the ruling party would withdraw its old lawsuit and instead submit an expanded list that includes the Federalists party. The previous targets of the ban were the United National Movement, the Coalition for Change, and Lelo.Papuashvili said the lawsuit was amended following a declaration signed by opposition groups on March 2, 2026. According to him, this union aims to “not recognize constitutional institutions and undermine democratic processes.”“We are appealing to the Constitutional Court with a new, amended lawsuit, in which the number of parties has increased,” Papuashvili said. He called the opposition alliance a continuation of the “criminal regime” and noted that the government is monitoring both the parties’ “anti-constitutional goals” and their influence on political processes.Political temperatures in Georgia have been particularly high since the opposition and part of the West did not recognize the results of the October 2024 parliamentary elections as legitimate. The Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012, accuses its opponents of pursuing the interests of the “global war party” and attempting to destabilize the country.Critics and international human rights organizations believe that the possible ban on opposition parties would push the country toward one-party rule and ultimately distance it from its goal of integration into the European Union.If the Constitutional Court upholds the lawsuit, the country's leading opposition forces would be stripped of their electoral status, an unprecedented step in Georgia's modern history.

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In the clearance economic zone, out of 51 samples taken as a result of inspections of 22 companies, violations were detected in 6 samples from 3 companies.During the same period, 10 state supervisions were carried out in 4 companies, which aims to determine the compliance of the wine technological process in enterprises with the requirements specified by Georgian legislation. No violations were detected in 5 samples taken.As for the local market, 101 samples from 56 companies were checked within the framework of 6 controls. Violations were detected in 49 samples from 33 companies.The agency notes that compared to the same period last year, the number of violations has decreased, which indicates the effectiveness of the wine quality control system.According to the agency, the relevant departments of the National Wine Agency continue to continuously monitor the quality of alcoholic beverages so that Georgian wine fully meets international standards, maintains competitiveness and further increases demand in global markets.

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Lion Finance Group (BGEO LN) shares closed at GBP 116.00/share (+7.81% w/w and +17.41% m/m). More than 415k shares traded in the range of GBP 105.90 - 116.20/share. Average daily traded volume was 81k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of BGEO shares traded was at 0.96% of its capitalization.TBC Bank Group (TBCG LN) closed the week at GBP 51.80/share (+9.84% w/w and +22.60% m/m). More than 311k shares changed hands in the range of GBP 46.18 - 52.00/share. Average daily traded volume was 73k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of TBCG shares traded was at 0.56% of its capitalization.Georgia Capital (CGEO LN) shares closed at GBP 40.80/share (+0.62% w/w and +13.65% m/m). More than 339k shares traded in the range of GBP 39.50 - 41.90/share. Average daily traded volume was 58k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of CGEO shares traded was at 0.99% of its capitalization. 

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Georgia's trade deficit in January-March 2026 amounted to $2.41 billion, which was 41.2% of foreign trade turnover.In January-March 2026, the share of the ten largest export partner countries in Georgia's total exports amounted to 71.6%.The top three exporters were as follows: China ($203.2 million) Kyrgyzstan ($190.9 million) Russia ($145.5 million) In January-March 2026, the share of the ten largest import partner countries in Georgia's total imports amounted to 70.2%. The top three include: Turkey ($657.3 million) Russia ($592.5 million) China ($487.6 million) In January-March 2026, the share of the ten largest trading partner countries in Georgia's total foreign trade turnover amounted to 67%. The country's largest trading partners are: Turkey ($802.1 million) Russia ($738 million) China ($690.7 million) According to Geostat, in January-March 2026, among the top ten export commodity groups, light vehicles took first place with $364.5 million, which is 21.1% of all exports. Second place is taken by oil and oil products with $208.1 million (12.1% of all exports), and third place is taken by precious metal ores and concentrates with $169.9 million (9.9%).The largest import commodity group in January-March 2026 was represented by passenger cars, whose imports amounted to $632.2 million and 15.3% of all imports. Second place is taken by oil and petroleum products with $338.6 million (8.2% of imports), and third place is taken by petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons with $204.1 million (4.9% of imports).

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