BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr.2
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgian National Bank deposits increased by 12.5 percent year-on-year to 27.3 billion lari ($8.3 billion) as of February 2020, Trend reports with reference to TBC Research Group at Georgian TBC Bank.
The lari-denominated deposits went up to 10.3 billion lari ($3.1 billion), an increase of 16.6 percent year-on-year), while foreign currency deposits reached 17 billion lari ($5.1 billion) equivalents (+10.1 percent year-on-year).
As a result, the share of home currency deposits equaled 37.6 percent by the end of February 2020.
A spread between the new lari and the foreign exchange (FX) deposits interest rates was up by 1.4 percentage points, as the rates on lari deposits increased month-on-month by 1.3 percentage points, while the rates on FX were down by 0.1 percentage points month-on-month.
Bank loans increased by 17.03 percent year-on-year to 30.9 billion lari ($9.4 billion) equivalent by the end of February. The lari-denominated loans went up to 14.2 billion lari ($4.3 billion), an increase of 25.2 percent year-on-year ), while foreign currency loans reached 16.6 billion lari ($5.07 billion) equivalent (+10.8 percent year-on-year).
Interest rates on new lari and the FX loans converged in February 2020, compared to January, as market interest rates for lari loans were down by 0.2 percentage points month-on-month to 16.3 percent, while they increased by 0.1 percentage points month-on-month to 6.1 percent for FX-denominated loans.
Loans to households, constituting for 51.3 percent of the total portfolio, reached 15.8 billion lari ($4.8 billion), an increase of 10.9 5 percent year-on-year equivalent, as the loans to legal entities were up to 15 billion lari ($4.5 billion), an increase of 24.36 percent year-on-year equivalent by the end of February 2020. Current Account Balance was down 1.6 percentage points year-on-year in fourth quarter of 2019.
The improved balance of trade in goods (+1.6 percentage points of GDP year-on-year) did not offset weaker balance of trade in services (-0.3 percentage points of GDP year-on-year), current transfers (-0.5 percentage points of GDP year-on-year), and decline in income (-1.4 percentage points year-on-year in USD terms).
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356