Best bank 2025: Bank of Georgia
Bank of Georgia, a distinguished contender for Georgia’s best bank, shows innovation and growth in its recent initiatives and performance metrics.
The acquisition of Ameriabank in 2024 was a strategic move that elevated the bank’s financial stature, increasing group net income by 20%. This acquisition not only bolstered its financial stability but also expanded its regional footprint, showcasing strategic growth ambition.
In 2024, the bank took significant strides in digital innovation. It introduced an AI-powered Georgian-language chatbot, which now handles 25% of its contact centre’s volume, improving customer service efficiency. It rolled out new buy now, pay later credit approval features, marking a pivotal enhancement in consumer-financing facilities.
Further enriching its digital marketing tools, Bank of Georgia upgraded its Ads Manager platform to include goal-based campaigns along with advanced analytics, enabling businesses to target its extensive customer base of over 2 million. This enhancement not only improved service to its business clients but also intensified digital engagement.
The bank also reported notable growth in its digital user metrics. Retail digital monthly active users (MAU) grew by 17.5% year-on-year, reaching 1.6 million in 2024, with retail digital payment MAU escalating by 16.2%.
Another notable innovation was the ‘car space’ feature launched in the mobile SuperApp in 2024, which registered over 46,000 cars. The bank has also integrated the Georgian Revenue Service, which was activated by more than 180,000 users in 2024 to manage their taxes conveniently through the app.
These initiatives underscore Bank of Georgia’s commitment to enhancing both user experience and operational excellence, positioning it as a deserving winner of the award as Georgia’s best bank.
Best investment bank 2025: Galt & Taggart
Galt & Taggart, a premier name in Georgia’s financial markets, earned its nomination for Georgia’s best investment bank thanks to its latest service developments, tech prowess and strong capital markets performance.
In 2024, it significantly enhanced its trading platform G&T Trader, expanding access to up to 90 markets globally, which included 20 new ones. This upgrade incorporated fractional trading on bonds and US stocks, access to mutual funds, the extension of US trading to 24 hours, and the integration of advanced research tools, markedly augmenting service usability and scope for clients.
Further strengthening its portfolio services, the bank launched non-discretionary portfolio management services targeted at high net-worth individuals, swiftly managing to accumulate over $30 million in assets under management within just a few months. This rapid accumulation underlines the trust and efficiency Galt & Taggart commands in wealth management.
In the local bond market, it held a dominant 64% share in 2024, orchestrating 17 significant deals that amounted to approximately GeL1.4 billion ($3.8 billion) across both public and private sectors, evidently showcasing their market leadership. Notably, the bank was the sole arranger of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s three bond issuances totalling GeL1.1 billion in Georgia for the year, including the historic largest tranche of GeL500 million.
Further improving client interaction, Galt & Taggart also introduced an online account opening feature and extended the pre- and post-trading hours on G&T Trader by 4.5 hours, therefore significantly boosting accessibility and client engagement in an increasingly digital trading environment. These cumulative efforts highlight Galt & Taggart’s commitment to fostering a robust and versatile investment banking landscape in Georgia, making it a deserving winner of Euromoney’s award as Georgia’s best investment bank.
Best digital bank 2025: TBC
TBC has solidified its status as Georgia’s best digital bank, demonstrating significant advancements and innovation in digital banking. These achievements are evidenced by TBC’s mobile banking sector, which saw impressive growth with 142,665 new active users in 2024.
The engagement metrics reveal an increase in the daily to monthly active user (DAU/MAU) ratio, up from 42% in 2023 to 47% in 2024. Concurrently, over 90% of TBC Card users added their cards to mobile wallets after activation, indicating a swift adoption of digital payment solutions among clients.
The bank’s digital onboarding processes have dramatically improved, with the processing time reduced to 30 seconds and the success rate soaring from 34% to 82%. This indicates a robust, user-friendly digital interface, resulting in 41,001 users opting for digital onboarding in the seven-month period between February and August 2024, as opposed to the considerably lower figure of 4,220 via traditional methods.
Investment account openings at TBC saw a monumental increase of 581.3% year-on-year, tallying 95,000 new accounts with assets under management reaching $45 million. Users of these investment services gained access to a diversity of financial assets, including over 9,000 US stocks and exchange-traded funds.
Another standout feature is TBC’s ‘auto comfort’ service within its app, which successfully processed 77,555 fines and sold 37,660 services since its launch in April 2024, showcasing advanced integration of car-related services in a banking app.
The implementation of 24/7 Me2Me instant transfers and the use of AI-powered chat and real-time facial recognition technology have significantly enhanced both the usability and security of TBC’s digital banking channels, ensuring a seamless and safe banking experience for all users. Each innovation underscores TBC’s commitment to providing comprehensive, cutting-edge digital banking solutions.
Best bank for ESG 2025: Bank of Georgia
Bank of Georgia has demonstrated a remarkable progression in its commitment to green and sustainable financing, yielding significant growth in both programme scope and impact, which positions it as a top contender for Georgia’s best bank for ESG.
In 2024, the bank achieved a robust 219% increase in its number of green loans, escalating from 240 loans in 2023 to 765. Complementing this, the value of green financing surged by 33.4% to reach GeL1.003 billion ($368 million).
Adding to its innovative financial solutions in 2024, Bank of Georgia introduced the solar panel loan specifically tailored for SMEs and corporates. This initiative aligns with global shifts toward renewable energy adoption and reflects the bank’s proactive approach in supporting environmental sustainability within the Georgian corporate sector.
A further significant development in 2024 was the introduction of a green asset pool tracking system, encapsulating a total of GeL1.075 billion. This system saw GeL1.003 billion in loans fully aligned with NBG’s green taxonomy, as well as an additional GeL72 million in loans recognised as green by partner international financial institutions, but not yet categorised under the taxonomy.
On agricultural frontiers, the bank notably escalated its climate-smart agriculture financing. This reflects a strategic alignment with sustainable agricultural practices, addressing both environmental and economic facets of sustainability.
Furthermore, the integration of green financing targets into executive key performance indicators highlights the bank’s commitment to institutionalising green finance. This strategic move not only incentivises loan originations but also embeds sustainability into the core operational frameworks, promoting a comprehensive advancement toward environmental governance and sustainability.
Best bank for research 2025: TBC Capital
TBC Capital has made substantial enhancements in its financial markets research division that justify its award as Georgia’s best for research. Throughout 2024, the team expanded its roster of specialised analysts from five to six and incorporated AI tools such as ChatGPT to streamline research processes. This strategic integration has enabled more efficient and comprehensive analysis.
The development of real-time dashboards and nowcasting models leveraged both internal banking data and Google Trends, fundamentally enhancing TBC Capital’s forecasting capabilities. Such advanced tools have not only improved analytical precision but also allowed for more responsive market insights.
In response to the demand for accessible information, 2024 also saw the introduction of AI-powered translation services to enable bilingual reporting at TBC Capital. This innovation significantly improved the dissemination and reach of their macroeconomic insights across diverse linguistic demographics.
TBC Capital further extended its influence in the financial research field with the launch of key analytical reports including the Global Macro Update, Equity Market Review, and Regional Fixed Income Outlook. These publications offer regular, strategic analysis essential for investor decision-making.
Additionally, the institution’s proactive approach to engaging its audience through a research podcast, video summaries, and live events led to a notable 15% increase in research subscribers. This multi-platform dissemination strategy not only enhanced the accessibility of information but also enriched the client engagement and educational aspect of its services.
Through these comprehensive enhancements and initiatives, TBC Capital has significantly contributed to the elevation of financial research standards within Georgia.
