TBC Bank Successfully Finalizes Merger with Bank Republic
Bank Republic has become a part of TBC Bank, successfully completing a several month-long merger process; making TBC number one in all banking segments on the market.
As of March 31, TBC's market share in loans was 38.7% and 37.6% in deposits. Its market share in retail loans increased by 11% to 43.9%. TBC Bank’s clientele reached over 2 million, giving it the highest number of clients on the market. TBC Bank has expanded its service network, with a growing number of branches (167) and ATMs (530) in the territory of Georgia. The bank also strengthened its position with highly qualified personnel offering extensive experience in the banking sector.
“We’re delighted that the largest merging of two companies in Georgia has ended,” Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, CEO of TBC Bank said at a press conference on Friday. “We underwent a several month-long difficult process in order to make integration comfortable for our clients. I would like to thank both bank teams for the work they’ve done. We assure Bank Republic clients that we will provide them with the highest quality service, that made us stand out on the market”.
Former Bank Republic clients will benefit from the full spectrum of TBC Bank’s innovative products and services, including internationally acknowledged online and mobile banking, the first chat bot in Georgia (Ti-Bot), a variety of credit and deposit products and an extended network of branches and ATMs from May 8, when the technical migration of the two banks will be ended and former Bank Republic clients will become clients of TBC Bank, able to receive the full range of services in all TBC Bank and Bank Republic branches.
“It’s the largest transaction not only in Georgia, but also regionally. With all the indicators, TBC Bank today is the biggest financial institution in Georgia; however, for us the most important thing is the highest quality service to be provided to our customers.” Butskhrikidze noted as he spoke about the advantages and outcomes of the recent merger. “Since the period of acquisition, we’ve managed to increase Bank Republic’s shares both in deposits and loans, and it happened thanks to Bank Republic’s employees”.
Approximately 500,000 new customers were added to TBC Bank’s client portfolio.
“Our primary objective is to have clients that are satisfied with our service, to develop together with them and bring tailored products and services to as many people as possible, enabling them to fulfil their wishes. Having 500,000 new customers that are now TBC Bank clients is the beginning of a brand new stage for our bank and we hope to use the strengths of TBC Bank in order to meet their needs,” Butskhrikidze emphasized.
“We finalized the merging very quickly and effectively,” said Vano Baliashvili, Deputy CEO, TBC Bank. “It was a difficult process, and this weekend we’ll be upgrading the technical systems of the two banks”.
Butskhrikidze also noted that no staff cuts were made in front office during the merging process.
Nika Kurdiani, Deputy CEO of TBC Bank talked about new services and products soon to be offered to SME clients. He said by the end of the month, TBC Bank will be introducing a new service to its SME clients. However, he didn’t go into detail, moving on to briefly describe yet another change TBC Bank plans to launch in the near future which will enable SMEs to be more competitive.
“We’re also extremely active in corporative business and we hope that 2017 will be the most successful in this regard. We believe it to be a very positive one for the Georgian economy, giving a chance to Georgian business to operate much more successfully. It was critical for us to maintain all the corporate clients Bank Republic had and we managed not to lose any of them. We’re working with them on a day to day basis, offering a long-term strategic partnership,” Butskhrikidze concluded.
Nino Gugunishvili