Nino Devdariani, Chair of the Microfinance Organizations Association, says Georgia needs to ease regulatory requirements for microbanks, including rules governing their loan portfolio composition.
Speaking to BMG, Devdariani said that nearly two years after microbanks entered the market, experience has shown that certain regulations need to be revised to make the sector easier to operate in and attract new players.
Under current rules, at least 70% of a microbank’s loan portfolio must consist of business loans. Devdariani considers this requirement one of the first that should be relaxed, potentially in stages. She noted that microbanks are the only financial institutions subject to such portfolio-composition restrictions.
The National Bank of Georgia issued the country’s first microbank license in December 2024. Currently, only two microbanks operate in the market: Crystal and MBC.
