Awards for Excellence country winners – Georgia

While political protests in Tbilisi introduced some additional risk to the Georgian economy last year, economic growth remained robust thanks to strong domestic demand and capital inflows from tourism and exports.

The economy’s strength fed through to the banking sector, helping Bank of Georgia deliver a market-leading set of results for the year, making it the country’s best bank.

The bank delivered a 21% year-on-year rise in profit to GeL1.4 billion ($493 million) – a record high – with its return on equity at 29.9% and return on assets at 4.7%.

These returns, enhanced by higher interest rates, came on the back of 20% growth in the bank’s total net loan book to GeL19.5 billion across retail, SME and corporate banking.

Importantly, its ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans fell to 2.3%