LONDON, UK: TBC Bank Group announced that its subsidiary, JSCB TBC Bank has launched its banking operations in Uzbekistan, initially in a pilot mode for “friends and family”, and plans to extend its services to the broader population in August 2020.

“In line with our asset-light and highly digitalized strategy, we will be serving our customers mainly through our online platform, Space, while our smart, next generation branches will be used primarily for client relationship purposes.  The first pilot branch has already opened,” a statement said.

This year we will be targeting retail customers with the following products:

o  Current and savings accounts;

o  Cash loans and salary backed loans;

o  Cards, mobile banking, money transfers and transactional capabilities (eg. P2P transactions, utility payments); and

o  Point-of-sale consumer finance.

Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, Chief Executive Officer of TBC PLC, commented: “The launch of banking operations in Uzbekistan is a very significant step in TBC PLC’s international expansion and is an integral part of our digitally-led growth strategy. We are excited and full of enthusiasm to make our contribution towards the development of the banking sector in Uzbekistan and to offer cutting-edge banking solutions to the Uzbek population.”

Sandro Rtveladze, Chief Executive Officer of TBC Bank in Uzbekistan, commented: “I am delighted to announce the launch of our banking operations in Uzbekistan. Since obtaining a banking license in April 2020, we have completed all the remaining operational and regulatory milestones, and we are now ready to move into a closed Beta testing process, allowing us to serve external customers in a ‘by invitation only’ mode. We plan to offer our services to the wider public sometime in August. “

TBC PLC is a public limited company registered in England and Wales that was incorporated in February 2016. TBC PLC became the parent company of JSC TBC Bank (“TBC Bank”) on 10 August 2016. TBC PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TBCG and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

TBC Bank, together with its subsidiaries, is the leading universal banking group in Georgia, with a total market share of 39.4% of loans and 39.8% of non-banking deposits as of 31 March 2020, according to data published by the National Bank of Georgia.