BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 31
By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:
In April 2020, lending to economy by Georgia's commercial banks decreased by 776.2 million lari ($244.3 million) compared to the previous month and amounted to 33.72 billion lari ($10.6 billion), Trend reports referring to the report published by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).
As reported, the annual growth rate of the loan portfolio issued by commercial banks amounted to 28.9 percent.
Without the influence of the exchange rate, the annual increase in loans amounted to 17 percent.
The decrease in the loan portfolio was associated with a decrease in loans in foreign currency, which was partially due to the influence of the exchange rate. Some 89 percent of the loan portfolio accounted for long-term loans, of which 60.6 percent were issued in foreign currency. In short-term loans, the share of foreign currency loans amounted to 42.8 percent.
As of May 1, 2020, the banking sector in Georgia is represented by 15 commercial banks, including 14 foreign-controlled banks. The total assets of Georgian commercial banks (in current prices) decreased by 1.01 billion lari ($317.4 million) or by 2.01 percent in April 2020, compared to the previous month, and constituted 49.12 billion lari ($15.4 billion).
The banking sector’s equity capital stands at 5.05 billion lari ($1.5 billion), which makes up 10.29 percent of the commercial banks total assets.
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