Bank of Georgia to Become New Link of Clearstream in Caucasus

Clearstream, the international central securities depository (ICSD) of Deutsche Börse Group, will expand its international coverage by opening a new domestic link to Georgia on 11 January 2016.

The link will help foreign investors to access the local market and enables Clearstream to offer Georgian government bonds and supranational bonds via the Bank of Georgia, which acts as local custodian and cash correspondent bank.

“I am pleased that Bank of Georgia has become the local custodian and cash correspondent bank (CCB) for Clearstream and am excited about our prospects of partnering with Clearstream in expanding its international coverage by opening a new link to Georgia,” said Murtaz Kikoria, CEO, JSC Bank of Georgia. “It is an important step forward in terms of market coverage for Clearstream and another major boost for the Bank of Georgia to be at the forefront of capital market development in Georgia.”

According to the Clearstream website, Georgia is its 55th domestic link, affirming its leading position in terms of market coverage as an ICSD.

“The new link to Georgia is an important milestone as it marks another step in Clearstream’s strategic aim to increase access for our global customer base to the Caucasus and CIS region. It also demonstrates Clearstream’s commitment to support efforts made by the Georgian authorities and market participants to align their domestic market infrastructure and legal framework with international standards,” said Berthold Kracke, Head of Business Management and Member of the Clearstream Executive Board.

The product offering will include internal free of and against payment settlement in all settlement eligible currencies, including the recently accepted Georgian Lari (GEL).

Further available services are external free of payment settlement, custody and reconciliation as well as asset servicing.

Tamar Svanidze