TBILISI, Georgia, July 2. Amendments to the law "On the National Bank of Georgia", envisaging the legalization of microbanking in the country, have entered into force, Trend reports.
According to the amendments, a microbank is now defined as a legal entity established in the form of a joint stock company, which is licensed by the National Bank (NBG) and issues loans in the amount not exceeding one million lari ($380,000) per individual or group of individuals.
The microbanks are also authorized to attract deposits, open and service correspondent accounts, as well as issue their payment cards for non-cash and cash payments.
Moreover, the amendments have introduced requirements for the security and confidentiality of transactions, rules for transferring funds, lending and opening accounts, similar to the requirements for ordinary banks in Georgia.
To obtain a license to operate, a microbank must submit a written application and a number of documents to NBG. Among these documents, it is required to provide documents confirming the basis for the establishment of a microbank, a certificate from a commercial bank on the authorized and placed capital and its cashed part, as well as information on the origin of the capital. The initial capital of a microbank must total at least 10 million lari ($3.8 million).
Besides, the legal entity must provide information on compliance with the requirements for persons holding the positions of director and deputy director of the bank, information on the supervisory board and audit committee, as well as an audit report on previous activities and information on past commercial activities, criminal cases related to financial crimes, lawsuits and liability related to financial activities.
The amendments also require providing a certificate of payment of the fee for obtaining a license in the amount of 100,000 lari.
The decision to issue a license is made by NBG after verification of the submitted documents. In total, 15 commercial banks are operating in Georgia, of which three are system banks, and one is an internet bank.