Q: What is TBC Bank?

TBC Bank is the largest banking group in Georgia), commanding approximately 39% of the country's banking market by total assets. The bank is a modern, technology-driven universal bank offering comprehensive retail and business banking products and services. TBC Bank serves around 83% of Georgia's adult population with approximately 2.4 million customers, including over 2.3 million retail clients, 130,000 MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) customers, and 2,800 corporate clients. The bank is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. TBC Bank operates with a clear focus on digital innovation and customer experience.

Question 1

What is TBC Bank?

Accepted Answer

TBC Bank is the largest banking group in Georgia, commanding approximately 39% of the country's banking market by total assets. The bank is a modern, technology-driven universal bank offering comprehensive retail and business banking products and services. TBC Bank serves around 83% of Georgia's adult population with approximately 2.4 million customers, including over 2.3 million retail clients, 130,000 MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) customers, and 2,800 corporate clients.

The bank is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. TBC Bank operates with a clear focus on digital innovation and customer experience.

Question 2

When was TBC Bank founded?

Accepted Answer

TBC Bank was founded in 1992 by Georgian businessmen Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, along with other Georgian partners. The bank's original name was Tbilisi Business Centre, abbreviated as TBC.

The bank was established with an initial capital of just $500, which was the minimum amount required to establish a bank in Georgia in the early 1990s. TBC Bank received its general banking license (No. 85) from the National Bank of Georgia on January 20, 1993, and was granted a license to conduct international transactions in May 1993. In 1995, the bank was operating with only one branch and 29 employees, with total assets of $1.4 million.

Vakhtang Butskhrikidze joined the bank in 1993 and was appointed CEO in 1995, a position he has held continuously since then, guiding the bank's transformation into Georgia's largest financial institution.

Question 3

Where is TBC Bank headquartered?

Accepted Answer

TBC Bank is headquartered in Tbilisi, Georgia, at 7 Marjanishvili Street. The bank operates its main office and administrative functions from this central location in Georgia's capital city.

Question 4

Where does TBC Bank operate?

Accepted Answer

TBC Bank operates throughout Georgia with a network of 159 branches as of 2024, providing comprehensive coverage across the country. The bank maintains a strong presence in both urban and rural areas of Georgia.

Beyond its domestic operations, TBC Bank has expanded internationally. The bank gained a banking license in Uzbekistan in 2019 and has established operations there, with its Uzbek subsidiary contributing approximately 9% to the group's net profit. TBC Bank also operates subsidiaries in other markets, including TBC Invest in Israel, which serves as an intermediary between Israeli clients and the bank.

Question 5

What services does TBC Bank offer?

Accepted Answer

TBC Bank offers a comprehensive range of financial services across multiple segments. In retail banking, the bank provides current accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, children's deposit accounts, debit cards, credit cards, consumer loans, mortgage loans, and safe deposit boxes.

For business clients, TBC Bank offers corporate banking, SME banking, micro banking, trade finance, and cash management services. The bank operates TBC Leasing (established in 2004), which provides leasing services with 89.5% ownership by TBC Bank and minority ownership by the EBRD.

TBC Bank's wealth management division includes private banking services, investment banking through TBC Capital, and brokerage services offering access to over 6,500 U.S. stocks with zero trading fees. The bank also operates TBC Insurance, established in 2016 after acquiring insurance company Kopenbur.

Digital services are central to TBC Bank's offering, including a comprehensive Mobile Bank app, Internet Bank, Video Bank for remote account opening, and TBC Pass (a DigiPass application for secure authentication). The bank operates TBC Pay, one of the largest digital payment platforms and self-service terminal networks in Georgia.

Money transfer services include Western Union, Unistream, Contact, MoneyGram, Intel Express, Zolotaya Korona, Ria, and Rico Gram. The bank also owns a majority stake in My.GE, a Georgian e-commerce platform acquired in 2019.

Question 6

What makes TBC Bank unique?

Accepted Answer

TBC Bank distinguishes itself as Georgia's digital banking pioneer and innovation leader. In May 2018, the bank launched Space, Georgia's first fully digital-only bank, offering cutting-edge mobile financial management. TBC Bank was the first Georgian bank to introduce a Georgian-speaking chatbot and voice biometric recognition system in its call center.

The bank holds a dominant market position as Georgia's largest bank by all key metrics, including total assets, loans, and deposits. As of 2023, TBC Bank reported a return on equity (ROE) of 26.6% and has maintained ROE above 20% since 2015, demonstrating exceptional profitability. The bank achieved record profits with net income of 1,119.06 million GEL in 2023.

TBC Bank completed the largest IPO from Georgia when it listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 2014, raising $239 million and achieving a market value of $640 million. This was also the largest international off-index IPO from the EMEA region at the time. The bank maintains the highest customer satisfaction scores in Georgia's banking sector and has earned numerous international awards including "Best Bank in Georgia" from The Banker, EMEA Finance, Euromoney, and Global Finance.

TBC Bank demonstrates strong social responsibility, having founded the TBC Fund with GEL 5 million to help victims of the 2008 war in Georgia, and co-founding the annual SABA literature award in 2003 to recognize outstanding literary works.

Question 7

What type of financial institution is TBC Bank?

Accepted Answer

TBC Bank is a universal bank, operating across all segments of the financial services market in Georgia. As a universal bank, TBC operates an integrated business model covering retail banking, micro banking, SME banking, corporate banking, investment banking, wealth management, leasing, insurance, and digital payments.

Approximately 99.7% of the group's assets are related to core banking activities including banking, leasing, investment banking, and brokerage services. The bank is authorized and supervised by the National Bank of Georgia and participates in the Deposit Insurance Agency of Georgia (DIAG), which protects deposits up to 15,000 GEL per depositor.

TBC Bank holds credit ratings of BB (speculative) from Fitch and Ba2 (non-investment grade speculative) from Moody's. As a publicly traded entity on the London Stock Exchange with FTSE 250 Index inclusion, the bank operates under stringent international corporate governance and reporting standards.

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