Banks increased their Return on Equity – Rating

According to the 6-month statistics of NBG, the total profit (of profitable banks) is 1.914 billion GEL (H1/2025 - 1.619 billion. +18.2% Y.Y).All banks are profitable, except for the sanctioned VTB (-14.9 million) and Silk (-13.8 million). Also at a loss are digital "Hash Bank" (-6.2 million) and "Paysera " (-1.2 million), the 3rd digital - "Pavebank" has a 6-month net profit of 5.6 million GEL.In total, there are 19 entities on the market, including 2 microbanks (Crystal and MBC).

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The country's five leading commercial banks Bank of Georgia, TBC Bank, Liberty Bank, Terabank, and Basisbank will implement the Nasdaq Calypso system on a shared infrastructure covering the full front-to-back trade lifecycle. This initiative, executed under the Georgian Market Advancement Program (GMAP) and coordinated by GFMTA, represents a significant milestone in the development of Georgia's capital markets.The five participating commercial banks account for the largest share of assets in the Georgian commercial banking sector. Their transition to a shared, internationally recognized platform marks a crucial step toward establishing Georgia as a modern and well-governed financial market.Notably, over the past five years, the Georgian commercial banking sector has experienced double-digit growth, with total assets approaching USD 38 billion a testament to the scale and dynamism of the country's financial system. Alongside this growth, demand has increased for more sophisticated treasury infrastructure capable of supporting securities and derivatives markets, enterprise-wide risk management, and increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. At the same time, the investment required to implement and maintain such infrastructure at an individual institutional level poses a significant challenge for any single bank. A shared, coordinated approach, involving sector-wide pooling of resources and expertise, represents the most efficient means of achieving this objective at scale.According to Natia Turnava, Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, the modernization of Georgia's treasury infrastructure is a strategic priority for the NBG and an important step forward in the continued development of the country's financial system. She emphasized that, with the NBG's support, the shared platform will provide the reliable, world-class infrastructure needed to support the banking sector's continued growth."By migrating five leading Georgian commercial banks to a unified, internationally recognized platform, we are raising the standards of risk management, regulatory oversight, and operational resilience across the sector. This initiative reflects our commitment to building a strong and transparent financial market that fully aligns with international best practices and supports Georgia's economic growth," said Natia Turnava.Magnus Haglind, Head of Capital Markets Technology at Nasdaq, noted that Georgia serves as a prime example of how a shared infrastructure model can create tangible value."Both for individual institutions and for the financial system as a whole. Drawing on Nasdaq's experience in managing large-scale modernization programs, financial institutions gain access to deep institutional knowledge and future development opportunities without having to bear the full costs, risks, or operational complexities independently. GMAP represents precisely the kind of structured, country-level framework that ensures the success of a transformation on this scale. We are delighted to have the opportunity to support the National Bank of Georgia in this initiative and to assist the Georgian banking sector in establishing the infrastructure it needs for its next phase of growth," said Magnus Haglind.

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According to the Central Bank, as of 20.07.2026, the balance of refinancing loans has decreased to 300.5 million, and the one-month instrument has decreased by 500 million to 3 million.Investment bankers explain the decline in demand for GEL from banks simply - the sector has sufficient GEL liquidity and is not borrowing.Roman Gotsiridze explains the more than sufficient GEL liquidity in banks with the policy of the National Bank of Georgia. The supervisor focused on replenishing reserves and curbing price growth is no longer a priority.The politician (former president of the National Bank of Georgia) does not approve of the choice of the National Bank of Georgia, but he does not dislike it either. He believes that the processes could have been managed more professionally."Pension funds, government money on bank deposits, emigrant remittances converted into lari, crypto, legal and illegal financial flows, which of course benefit the banking system," - according to Gotsiridze, it is good that the sector makes a lot of profit, because this ensures the stability of the system. It is good that banks no longer need loans from the National Bank of Georgia, because they have their own resources. It is good that the National Bank of Georgia buys currency and replenishes the country's foreign exchange reserves, and at the same time, a large amount of money has accumulated in banks due to it.But it is bad that with a $1.4 billion purchase, the injection of 4 billion GEL into the market causes price increases, accelerates inflation and prevents the GEL from strengthening, which means that imports become more expensive," Roman Gotsiridze argues on social networks. If it is good, then why is it bad, and if it is bad, how can it be good?"It is not easy to say whether it is good or bad, but processes need to be managed professionally and not so rigidly," as he says, the NBG and the government manage."So the event is multi-faceted, which also indirectly shows other events," Roman Gotsiridze said.

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GeoStat reports that within this turnover, exports accounted for USD 3,876.3 million, representing a substantial 20.0% surge, while imports amounted to USD 9,049.1 million, registering a modest growth of 0.7%.Georgia’s negative trade balance stood at USD 5,172.9 million for the first six months of 2026, comprising 40.0% of the total external trade turnover.Furthermore, the agency’s report highlights that the top ten largest trading partners accounted for 66.3% of Georgia’s total foreign trade volume during this period. The country’s primary trading partners are Turkey, leading with USD 1,659.4 million, followed by Russia at USD 1,527.6 million, and China at USD 1,496.7 million.

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GeoStat notes that domestic exports, which exclude re-exports, accounted for 61.7% of the total export volume; the agency’s data revealed that this figure surged by 62.6% year-on-year, amounting to USD 2,391.8 million.Furthermore, the top ten destination countries accounted for 65.8% of Georgia’s total domestic exports between January and June 2026. The primary export partners in this category were China, leading with USD 417.0 million, followed by Russia at USD 308.4 million, and Turkey at USD 243.7 million.In terms of commodity groups, petroleum and petroleum oils secured the top spot in the domestic export list for the first half of 2026, generating USD 466.9 million and comprising 19.5% of the total domestic export share.Precious metal ores and concentrates placed second with USD 304.3 million, while ferro-alloys ranked third at USD 147.5 million.

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GeoStat reports that, compared to May 2026, prices in the mining and quarrying sector dropped by 5.8%, contributing -0.45 percentage points to the overall index change. Over the same period, prices for manufacturing output decreased by 0.9%, contributing -0.7 percentage points to the total index shift. Conversely, a 3.3% price increase was recorded in the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply sector, which contributed 0.32 percentage points to the monthly index change.“Over the 12 months, the formation of the index was primarily driven by price changes in the following sectors:· Mining and quarrying: Prices rose by 15.3%, impacting the overall index change by 1.04 percentage points. Within this group, a notable price increase was recorded for metal ores (19.6%).· Manufacturing: Prices increased by 5.2%, contributing 4.19 percentage points to the total index growth. Price hikes were observed in food products (5.8%) and basic metals (10.6%).· Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply: Prices rose by 4.4%, affecting the annual change in the overall index by 0.46 percentage points.· Water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities: Prices grew by 6.7%, impacting the total index by 0.21 percentage points,” GeoStat’s published report stated.

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The country’s five leading commercial banks – Bank of Georgia, TBC Bank, Liberty Bank, Terabank and Basisbank – will implement the Nasdaq Calypso system within a common infrastructure covering the full trading cycle. The initiative, implemented under the Georgian Financial Markets Development Program (GMAP) and coordinated by the Georgian Financial Markets Treasuries Association (GFMTA), represents an important milestone in the development of Georgia’s capital markets.The five participating commercial banks represent the largest share of the assets of the Georgian commercial banking sector. Their transition to a common, internationally recognized platform is an important step towards establishing Georgia as a modern and well-managed financial market.It is worth noting that over the past 5 years, the Georgian commercial banking sector has been characterized by double-digit growth, with total assets approaching USD 38 billion - which speaks volumes about the scale and dynamism of the country's financial system. Along with the growth of the sector, the demand for more complex treasury infrastructure capable of supporting securities and derivatives markets, managing corporate-level risks, and meeting increasingly stringent regulatory standards has increased. At the same time, the investment required to implement and support such infrastructure at the level of individual institutions represents a significant challenge for any individual bank. A common, coordinated approach, involving the sharing of resources and expertise across the sector, is the most effective way to achieve this goal at scale.According to Natia Turnava, President of the National Bank of Georgia, the modernization of Georgia’s treasury infrastructure is a strategic priority of the National Bank of Georgia and an important step towards the further development of the country’s financial system. She said that, with the support of the National Bank of Georgia, the common platform will provide the reliable, international-level infrastructure needed to support the further growth of the banking sector.“By moving Georgia’s five leading commercial banks to a single, internationally recognized platform, we are contributing to raising the standard of risk management, regulatory oversight and operational sustainability across the sector. This initiative reflects our aspiration to create a strong and transparent financial market that is fully compliant with international best practices and supports Georgia’s economic growth,” said Natia Turnava, President of the National Bank of Georgia.According to Magnus Haglind, Head of Capital Markets Technology at Nasdaq, Georgia is a shining example of how a shared infrastructure model can create real value.“Both for individual institutions and for the financial system as a whole. Drawing on Nasdaq’s experience in managing large-scale modernization programs, companies gain access to deep institutional knowledge and development opportunities without having to shoulder the full costs, risks or operational complexity on their own. GMAP is precisely the kind of structured, country-level framework that ensures the success of a transformation of this scale. We are pleased to have the opportunity to support the National Bank of Georgia in this initiative and help the Georgian banking sector establish the infrastructure it needs for the next stage of growth,” Magnus Haglind noted.According to Lasha Jugeli, Executive Secretary of the Georgian Financial Markets and Treasury Association, the Georgian Financial Markets Development Program (GMAP) is the result of many years of focused coordination in the Georgian banking sector and represents a turning point for the association and the financial institutions represented in it.“With the help of Nasdaq’s global expertise, the shared infrastructure with the institutional support of the National Bank of Georgia, as well as the project management funding allocated through the Japan-EBRD Cooperation Fund, our member banks are not only modernizing their operational and financial operations, but also collectively raising the standard of treasury management across the sector. We are proud to have played a central role in the implementation of this initiative and look forward to the real benefits that this project will bring to our members and the local financial markets as a whole,” he said.

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In the second quarter of 2026, the share of EU countries in international travel revenue was determined at 17.7% and amounted to 194.9 million USD - an increase of 12.1% compared to the same period last year.According to statistics, revenues from Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Armenia have increased by 10.3%, 49.8%, 5.6% annually and, respectively, are equal to 59.5, 53.7, 39.9 million USD. Against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, revenues from travel from Israel and Iran have decreased by 3.0% and 65.1% annually, to 123.8 and 10.2 million USD, respectively.

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