LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Bank of Georgia Group announced on Wednesday that its bank subsidiary, JSC Bank of Georgia, had attracted more GEL-denominated funding as it signed a GEL 160m loan agreement with Dutch development bank, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij Voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), with a tenor of five years.
The FTSE 250 company said the local currency loan facility would reinforce the growth of the bank's local currency-denominated loan portfolio, which underlined its commitment to support further de-dollarisation of Georgia's economy.

FMO raised the local currency funds through a public placement of GEL-denominated bonds on the Georgian Stock Exchange arranged by Galt & Taggart - Bank of Georgia's wholly owned brokerage arm.

"I am very pleased that Bank of Georgia and FMO have resumed their long-term co-operation and successfully arranged a local currency facility," said Bank of Georgia chief executive officer Kaha Kiknavelidze.

"We continue to direct our resources at raising GEL-denominated funding for our customers and strengthen our long-term partnerships with development financial institutions in the process.

"I would like to congratulate FMO on issuing their first GEL-denominated bonds in Georgia and sincerely thank them for choosing Bank of Georgia as their trusted counterparty in the local currency transaction."

Linda Broekhuizen, FMO's chief investment officer, added that the "groundbreaking" local currency facility marked the first time that FMO nhad issued a GEL-denominated bond in Georgia.

"We are proud to partner with Bank of Georgia in this local currency transaction which supports the desired de-dollarisation process in Georgia, stimulating the local economy and capital market development."

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