Georgia’s banking market is an outlier in emerging Europe. Not only is it almost entirely free from foreign ownership, it is also highly concentrated. Between them, the two largest lenders – TBC Bank and Bank of Georgia – account for nearly two-thirds of sector assets.
In some markets this might be cause for concern. Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, chief executive of market leader TBC, insists that in Georgia – with a population of just 3.7 million – it is a natural function of the size of the market.
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“To have the ability to innovate, to invest in new technologies and to service large domestic corporate customers requires a certain critical mass,” he says. “In a market like Georgia, there is only room for a handful of such strong, well-capitalized and well-established players.”
