European Bank of Reconstruction and Development positively evaluates the possibility of a third large bank entering the Georgian market, however, according to them, this does not seem feasible at the moment. Bruno Balvanera, Regional Representative of EBRD, states that two large banks already hold a major share in the market, which fact limits the possibility of a new large bank to enter the market.
“EBRD has been supporting the stability of banking sector in Georgia for many years. In 2008, in the times of global economic crisis and conflict with Russia, the pressure over the banking sector was huge. In that period, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development supported capitalization of two Georgian banks – TBC-Bank and Bank of Georgia.
Presently, there are two large and several small banks at the market. I think there is space for a third large bank, however, I don’t see the possibility of consolidation of these small banks. We would welcome entrance of another large bank into the market, however, this will be difficult, since two large banks hold a major share of the banking market”, – states Bruno Balvanera.
