Public Defender echoes investigative actions ongoing in Foundations Case

At the Government Palace of the Republic of Armenia, the leaders discussed the fruitful collaboration between Georgia and Armenia, highlighting their good neighbourly relations and strategic partnership in trade, economy, transport, and culture fields.The Georgian President and the Armenian Prime Minister also addressed regional challenges, emphasizing the importance of peace and stability in the South Caucasus.Mikheil Kavelashvili expressed Georgia’s support for the conclusion of peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, describing the agreement as a historic advancement toward enduring peace and stability in the region.He noted that Tbilisi had recently hosted a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and he expressed hope that cooperation within this framework would persist for the region’s prosperity.In closing, Mikheil Kavelashvili reaffirmed Georgia’s commitment to enhancing regional dialogue and cooperation in the South Caucasus.

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Lion Finance Group (BGEO LN) shares closed at GBP 57.50/share (+6.88% w/w and +0.70% m/m). More than 272k shares traded in the range of GBP 53.25 - 57.85/share. Average daily traded volume was 54k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of BGEO shares traded was at 0.61% of its capitalization.TBC Bank Group (TBCG LN) closed the week at GBP 45.50/share (+6.31% w/w and +3.53% m/m). More than 341k shares changed hands in the range of GBP 42.40 - 45.55/share. Average daily traded volume was 100k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of TBCG shares traded was at 0.61% of its capitalization.Georgia Capital (CGEO LN) shares closed at GBP 15.90/share (+14.22% w/w and +4.33% m/m). More than 519k shares traded in the range of GBP 13.96 - 15.90/share. Average daily traded volume was 89k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of CGEO shares traded was at 1.31% of its capitalization. 

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Silk Bank had to inject primary capital this year to meet the requirements of the National Bank of Georgia, and secondary capital last year.Management explains the losses in recent years by the exit of BTA Bank (Kazakhstan) from the shareholder structure. It also links to the increase in expenses for the development of digital channels.In addition, the bank's loan and deposit portfolios have increased by 87% and 29% annually, respectively.As of Q1/2024, Silk Bank's deposit portfolio is up to 114 million GEL. Of this, foreign currency deposits are equivalent to 91 million GEL.

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The need to increase the issued capital was explained to the shareholders by the General Director of the bank (Chairman of the meeting) Aleksi Khoroshvili. He said that it was put on the agenda in order to satisfy certain regulations of the National Bank of Georgia.The owners of 99.99% of the capital (JSC Silk Road Holding Malta (57.62%); Partomta LLC (35.667%); JSC Silk Holding (6.7%)) were represented by the director's proxy Mikheil Chigladze, director Giorgi Chichinadze and director Alexi Topuria.It was confirmed that the amount to be included in the initial capital through the issue of shares fully meets the criteria set out in Article 28 of the NBG Regulation on “Capital Adequacy Requirements for Commercial Banks”:a) It is the most subordinated requirement;b) It is subject to the right of claim, upon liquidation, after repayment of priority liabilities, in proportion to the share of the issued capital on the remaining assets;c) The principal amount is perpetual and will never be repaid, except in liquidation;e) It is distributed from distributable elements (including retained earnings);f) There are no mandatory circumstances of repayment. Accordingly, non-payment of the distributed amount is not considered a default;j) The amount withdrawn is considered capital, in accordance with the relevant accounting standards.As of Q1/2025, Silk is represented by assets of GEL  225.8 million, a loan portfolio of GEL 132.6 million (market share 0.24%).

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Eurocredit's income from pawnshop loans for Q1.2025 is 6.5 million GEL (Q1/2024 – 6.6 million, Q1/2023 – 5.7 million).Loans to the private sector have increased, to 75.8 million GEL (Q1/2024 – 72.9 million, +4%Y.Y).In the first quarter, Eurocredit received a net profit of 2.8 million GEL (Q1/2024 – 2.1 million, + 33%Y.Y).

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According to the National Wine Agency, the Qvevri is more than a winemaking vessel, it is a symbol of continuity, craftsmanship, and the intimate relationship between Georgians and their land. Buried underground to naturally regulate temperature, these Qvevris (large clay vessels) have been used in Georgian winemaking for over 8,000 years, earning Georgia recognition as the cradle of wine and a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage designation for its Qvevri winemaking method.International Qvevri Day is designed not only to celebrate this remarkable tradition but to promote greater global awareness of Georgia’s enological heritage, regional wine styles, native grape varieties, and the unique organoleptic characteristics of Qvevri wines. It is a day for sommeliers, winemakers, wine lovers, historians, and cultural advocates around the world to raise their glasses to a method that defies time.

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The YoY growth rate of deposits, excluding exchange rate effect, was 11.27%. In March, the volume of term deposits increased by 67.78 milion GEL (by 0.25%; exchange rate effect excluded volume of term deposits increased by 0.93%). Demand deposits increased by 400.11 milion GEL (by 1.29%; exchange rate effect excluded volume of demand deposits inincreased by 1.92%).The larization ratio of total non-bank deposits constituted 47.23% by the end of March 2025 and increased by 0.35 percentage point (exchange rate effect excluded increased by 0.04 percentage point) compared to the end of February 2025.The market interest rate on term deposits constituted 6.84%. In particular, the market interest rate for national currency denominated deposits was 9.84% and the market interest rate for foreign currency denominated deposits was 2.56%.The share of the US dollar in the total volume of foreign currency denominated deposits equals 79.65% and the share of the Euro equals 18.91%.

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The YoY growth rate of loans, excluding exchange rate effect, was 16.60%. The volume of loans in national currency increased by 492.16 milion GEL (1.38%) and the volume of loans in foreign currency increased by 340.07 milion GEL or by 1.26% in the same period (exchange rate effect excluded, increased by 2.13%).By the end of March 2025, the total volume of national currency denominated loans to resident legal entities issued by commercial banks amounted to 10.72 billion GEL (1.02% more compared to the previous month), and foreign currency denominated loans constituted 18.22 billion GEL (1.87% more; exchange rate effect excluded volume of lending in foreign currency increased by 2.78 %).During March 2025, the volume of lending to resident household sector increased by 1.26% or 402.88 milion GEL, and constituted 32.46 billion GEL by the end of March 2025.Larization ratio for total loans constituted 56.89% by the end of March 2025 and increased by 0.030 percentage point (exchange rate effect excluded, decreased by 0.18 percentage point), compared to the end of February 2025.

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