TBC Bank Group PLC TBC obtains banking pre-licence in Uzbekistan (4799A)
21 Gennaio 2020 - 01:38PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMTBCG
RNS Number : 4799A
TBC Bank Group PLC
21 January 2020
TBC obtains preliminary banking licence in Uzbekistan
TBC Bank Group PLC ("TBC PLC") is pleased to announce that it
has obtained a preliminary banking licence in Uzbekistan, which is
an essential step in the process to launch our banking operations
in the country in the near future. Obtaining a banking licence is a
two-step process, wherein the banks are first granted a preliminary
licence after which they are expected to meet certain predefined
requirements to receive the final licence.
As previously announced, TBC PLC's strategy is to develop a
greenfield, next-generation banking ecosystem for retail and MSME
customers in Uzbekistan. The primary focus will be on digital
channels, including our neobank, Space.
The Uzbek market is highly attractive, with a population of 33
million growing at around 2.0% per year, increasing market
liberalisation and a retail loans to GDP ratio of only 6.0% at the
end of 2018.
For our Uzbek venture, we are planning to join forces with
international financial institutions and a local partner. Our plans
foresee a minimum 51% shareholding. We have already secured
interest from the EBRD and IFC and have reached an agreement on the
main terms with the Uzbek-Oman Investment Company to act as our
local partner. The total amount of the initial investment from all
the shareholders will be US$ 40 million.
Last year, we launched several important preparatory
work-streams including implementation of the core banking system in
co-operation with a local IT company. We also set up a pilot branch
in Tashkent for proof of concept and built a core team for the
bank. Thus, we are well advanced in the process and expect to
obtain the final licence and start banking operations in summer
2020.
In parallel, we are actively developing our payments business in
the country, through our recently acquired subsidiary, Payme, which
is the leading payments company in the country, already serving
around 1.8 million customers. In December 2019, we also launched
our point-of-sale consumer financing operations, with a target of
20 locations by the end of February 2022.
Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, Chief Executive Officer of TBC Bank,
commented:
"This is a very significant milestone and brings us closer to
the launch of our banking operations in the Uzbek market. We are
very excited about this journey, which is a critical part of our
international expansion strategy. I want to take the opportunity to
thank the Uzbek authorities for their trust and express deep
gratitude to our team working on the Uzbek project for their
outstanding effort and diligence."
For further enquiries, please contact:
Director of International Media and Investor Relations
Zoltan Szalai
Or
Head of Investor Relations
Anna Romelashvili
ir@tbcbank.com.ge
About TBC Bank Group PLC ("TBC PLC")
TBC PLC is a public limited company registered in England and
Wales that was incorporated in February 2016. TBC PLC became the
parent company of JSC TBC Bank ("TBC Bank") on 10 August 2016. TBC
PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TBCG
and is a constituent of FTSE 250 Index.
TBC Bank, together with its subsidiaries, is the leading
universal banking group in Georgia, with a total market share of
38.7% of loans and 39.3% of non-banking deposits as at 30 September
2019, according to data published by the National Bank of
Georgia.
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END
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