Washington, D.C., and Tbilisi, Georgia, January 18, 2005
—The International Finance Corporation, the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, provided a subordinated loan of $4 million to TBC Bank. The loan has been structured to qualify as Tier II capital for regulatory purposes. It is the first such financing in Georgia by an international finance institution, in line with the latest National Bank of Georgia guidelines, and is part of IFC’s broader strategy in Central and Eastern Europe.
According to Jyrki Koskelo, IFC Director for Global Financial Markets, “IFC welcomes the opportunity to support the growth of dynamic financial institutions that operate in emerging markets. The provision of a subordinated loan to support the capital of a leading bank in Georgia will support further growth in lending and investments in infrastructure.”
Mr. Edward Nassim, IFC's Director for Central and Eastern Europe, commented, “This project builds upon IFC's track record for innovation in the Georgian financial sector. IFC is very pleased to continue supporting TBC Bank, our first bank partner in Georgia, which strives for high standards and seeks to lead the market by adopting best practices.”
Mr. Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, TBC Bank’s General Director, said, “We appreciate our long term partnership with IFC. This subordinated loan provides us with an excellent resource to implement our strategic plan for 2005.”
TBC Bank was established in 1992 and is Georgia’s oldest private commercial bank. It is the country’s largest bank in terms of total assets and has the largest market share of deposits. It specializes in lending to corporate clients and small and medium enterprises.
Georgia joined IFC in 1995. Since then, IFC has approved more than $100 million of investments in the country, to finance projects primarily in the financial, infrastructure, power, and real sectors.
The mission of IFC is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY04, IFC has committed more than $44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3,143 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC's worldwide committed portfolio as of FY04 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
