The World Bank, within the framework of the Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) has given a positive assessment to the work of the National bank of Georgia (NBG) under the FSA Assessment Report.

Successes in de-dollarisation and more responsible lending are highlighted, while the development of capital markets is seen as a target to be pursued in the future.

According to the document, there has been a strong focus on the development of the capital markets in Georgia in the last few years already.

Well-developed domestic capital markets could contribute to Georgia’s sustainable economic growth, the WB argues. In the context of bank dominance in the financial sector and still high dollarization, capital market development could also contribute to more effective mobilization of domestic savings, diversification in the sources of financing for the corporate and household sector, including access to debt in longer tenors.

According to the World Bank report, significant progress has been made since 2017 towards implementing a risk-based supervisory framework, supported by the issuance of a Code of Corporate Governance and the introduction of a General Risk Assessment Programme (GRAPE) assessment.

NBG has taken positive steps to respond to promote fintech development, including establishing a fintech directorate to monitor market developments, track potential risks, and initiate several fintech-related initiatives.