International Qvevri Day was celebrated for the first time in Georgia

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 Accordingly, non-payment of the distributed amount is not considered a default;j) The amount withdrawn is considered capital, in accordance with the relevant accounting standards.As of Q1/2025, Silki is represented by assets of GEL  225.8 million, a loan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 8 million GEL (Q1/2024 – 2.1 million, + 33%Y.Y).

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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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Discussions centered on the critical importance of building and maintaining adequate reserves within central banks. The participants emphasized the vital role of international currency reserves in safeguarding a country and its financial system against crises triggered by stressful events.Natia Turnava highlighted the tangible progress achieved through the NBG’s cooperation with the World Bank’s RAMP program. She noted that, with RAMP’s support, the NBG had significantly enhanced its reserve management practices, transitioning from a basic "buy-and-hold" approach to more sophisticated, active investment strategies."Through our partnership with the World Bank Treasury RAMP program, the National Bank of Georgia has transformed its foreign exchange reserve management in line with global best practices. We have introduced world-leading methods and standards, allowing the NBG to establish its place among the leading central banks in reserve management," Turnava stated.During the discussion, representatives of the RAMP program expressed their readiness to deepen cooperation, share expertise, and provide support for ongoing reforms and technical assistance initiatives.It is worth noting that the National Bank of Georgia has been a member of the RAMP program since 2009, with the partnership agreement most recently renewed for another three years in October 2024. The NBG actively engages with RAMP colleagues, participating in both study visits and hosting delegations as part of this collaborative effort.Launched in 2001, the World Bank Reserve Advisory and Management Partnership (RAMP) assists central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and public sector institutions worldwide in strengthening the management of their foreign exchange reserves.

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The meeting focused on gender issues, the financial inclusion of women, their growing role in economic activity, and women's empowerment across Europe and Central Asia.During the event, Natia Turnava presented the initiatives undertaken by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) to support women's empowerment. She highlighted that women occupy 54% of senior and middle management positions at the NBG, and five out of the nine members of the Supervisory Board are women.Turnava addressed the current challenges related to women’s access to financial services, emphasizing the barriers that persist. She underlined the critical role of financial education in overcoming these obstacles, noting its central place in the NBG’s strategy."In 2020, we launched the Financial Education Portal, and in 2023, we approved an updated National Financial Education Strategy. Women are a priority group in both initiatives. Additionally, we are actively working to enhance corporate governance. Through the revised Corporate Governance Code, we introduced gender quotas for the supervisory boards of commercial banks and microbanks," Turnava stated.She further stressed that the NBG’s strategic focus is to bridge the gaps in access to finance for women-led businesses and to reduce the gender pay gap within the financial sector.As a reminder, the annual Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are attended by the directors and alternate directors of the IMF and the World Bank, as well as representatives of the financial sectors from nearly every country around the world. Participants discuss issues of global significance, including prospects for the world economy, poverty alleviation, economic development, aid effectiveness, as well as topics related to cybersecurity and financial technologies.

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The forum focused on sharing best practices in central bank governance, with particular emphasis on strengthening institutional frameworks, transparency, and accountability.One of the key themes of the forum was the digital transformation of financial systems.Nino Jeladze took part in the discussion where the forum participants emphasized the importance of robust risk management frameworks in the face of increasing global financial uncertainty. She underscored the pivotal role central banks play in maintaining economic stability and advocated for enhanced institutional dialogue and international cooperation to address shared challenges.With the support of the IMF Regional Office for Saudi Arabia, the Ninth High-Level Forum of Central Banks was held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The event brought together central bank governors from around the world to examine the emerging challenges facing central banks and to redefine their role in today’s evolving economic landscape.

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